The Bangladesh government has further tightened health restrictions from Jun 28 to Jul 1 in an effort to fight a rising wave of COVID infections across the country.
All public transport, aside from freight vehicles and rickshaws, is suspended and all shopping malls, markets, tourism centres, resorts, community centres and sites of entertainment are closed for this duration, the Cabinet Division said in a notice on Sunday.
Law enforcers will also be deployed on regular patrols to enforce restrictions, the notice said.
Public and private offices and institutions should only require the physical presence of essential employees during this period and have to arrange for their own transport, according to the notice. Restaurants and hotels may remain open to provide online delivery and takeaway services from 8 am to 8 pm, but cannot offer dine-in services.
The government also urged people to wear masks and follow health protocols, warning that legal action may be taken against those who violate restrictions.
On Saturday the government announced alterations to its new lockdown plan, with restrictions on a limited scale taking effect on Monday and a stricter nationwide lockdown of seven days starting Jul 1.
The National Technical Advisory Committee on COVID-19 on Thursday recommended the enforcement of a full lockdown for two weeks, with a shutdown of all activities, including public transport services, offices and courts, except for emergency services, to rein in the surging coronavirus cases. The government enforced a nationwide lockdown in early April after the second wave of COVID-19 began in Bangladesh.
Most restrictions were lifted when the situation improved slightly, but another surge in COVID-19 cases prompted the authorities to put curbs in parts of the country amid the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant, which was first detected in India and has caused a deadly second wave in that country.
The expert committee, however, cast doubt on the effectiveness of staggered lockdown measures.
The health system will be overwhelmed unless strict measures are taken immediately, it warned.
On Saturday, the death toll crossed 14,000 with 77 new fatalities in the daily count, and 1,000 deaths from COVID-19 in the previous 15 days. The number of coronavirus cases surged by 4,334 in a day to 883,138.
