Staff Reporter
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases and the death toll have been rising since mid-April in the country but it was in May when the situation worsened.
Bangladesh reported its first cases on March 8 and the first death on March 18.
In the last month alone, the country recorded 452 deaths and 39,386 confirmed cases. In March, the number of confirmed cases was 51 and six people were killed. In April, 160 people were killed while 7,616 confirmed cases were reported.
So far, the number of coronavirus cases is 55,140. On Tuesday, the health authorities reported 2,911 cases with 37 new deaths, raising the death toll to 746.
The government shut down public transports and all non-essential services as it announced general holidays from March 26 to limit the transmission of coronavirus. Public transports were also shut.
But after extending the holidays in phases until May 30, the government decided to reopen the country on a limited scale from May 31 to June 15. Educational institutions will remain closed during this period.
Staff Reporter
At least 117 members of fire service and civil defence have so far tested positive for coronavirus.
Of them, 16 ones have already recovered from the virus while 100 ones have been kept in isolation and one is undergoing treatment at a hospital, said, Shahjahan Sikder, a media cell official at the fire service headquarters.
He said the infected people have been kept under close monitoring, and they will be hospitalised if their health condition does not improve or deteriorate.
Of the total infected, Sikdar said 18 are from Fire Service’s headquarters at Siddique Bazar, while 9 from Tejgaon Fire Station, 17 from different branches of the department, 9 from Sadarghat Fire Station, 11 from Hazaribagh Fire Station, 7 from Dhaka Central Control Room, 7 from DEPZ Fire Station (Savar), 8 from Savar Fire Station, 1 from Lalbagh Fire Station, 1 from Mohammadpur Fire Station, 2 from Manikganj Fire Station, 4 from Chattogram’s Lamar Fire Station, 1 from Demra Fire Station, 4 from Khilgaon Fire Station, 2 from Munshiganj Fire Station, 1 from Palashi Fire Station, 1 from Barlekha Fire Station (Sylhet), one from Salta Fire Station (Faridpur), 1 from Syedpur Fire Station (Nilphamari) and 2 from Postogola Fire Station.
A total of 16 fire service members, including nine ones from Sadarghat Fire Station, have mad full recovery as their two consecutive Covid-19 tests results found negative.
Staff Reporter
Biman Bangladesh Airlines has cancelled all of its flights scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday due to lack of passengers on the third day of resumption of regular flight operations.
With this, Biman cancelled 46 flights from June 1 to June 4, said Tahera Khandaker, deputy general manager (PR) of Biman. She said, “On June 1, Biman was supposed to operate 12 flights on three routes, but two flights were operated for shortage of passengers.”
After more than two months of suspension amid the COVID-19 pandemic, domestic flights operation resumed on Dhaka-Chattogram, Dhaka-Sylhet and Dhaka-Syedpur routes on a limited scale maintaining all health rules from June 1.
Biman was supposed to operate 12 round flights on three routes on daily basis.
Staff Reporter
A customs official died from Covid-19 early Wednesday while undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Dhaka, according to National Board of Revenue (NBR).
The deceased — Jasim Uddin Mazumder (55) — had been undergoing treatment at Anwer Khan Modern Hospital
in Dhaka where he breathed his last around 2:00am, said NBR Senior Information Officer Syed A Momen in a text message. He is the first revenue officer who died from coronavirus in the country, Momen said.
Jasim was infected with Covid-19 while working at the ICD section of Chattogram Customs House a week ago, our Chattogram correspondent reports quoting Nur-E-Hanat Anosuya, assistance commissioner of the customs house.
Until Wednesday, 35 customs and VAT officials as well as two tax officials have been diagnosed with coronavirus, said Momen.
NBR Chairman Abu Hena Md Rahmatul Muneem and Bangladesh Customsand VAT Executive Officers Association expressed deep condolences and sympathy to the family of the deceased.
Contacted, Fakhrul Alam, commissioner of the Chattogram Customs House, said, “The customs house was open round-the-clock during the closure. Though we have taken several measures to fight the novel coronavirus, maintaining social distancing is quite impossible as a huge number of service recipients coming every day.”
“We are trying our best but still it’s a gigantic task to ensure social distancing among all these people,” he said, adding that they already requested the health department to set up a separate coronavirus testing booth for them.
