Staff Reporter :
East Rajabazar, a coronavirus hotspot in the capital, will remain on lockdown for a total of 21 days.
Dhaka North City Mayor Atiqul Islam announced the decision at an event to inaugurate waste management programme in the area on Tuesday, reports bdnews24.com.
The civic authorities were supposed to lift the 14-day lockdown in the area at midnight but changed the decision following the Health Services Directorate’s instructions, Atiqul said.
All areas marked coronavirus red zones with high risk of infection must remain on lockdown for 21 days, he said, citing the health authorities.
Atiqul also thanked the residents of the area for cooperating with the authorities to enforce the lockdown.
East Rajabazar was the first area to go into lockdown experimentally after the government began marking different parts of the country red, yellow and green zones on the basis of infection and death rates.
The so-called general holiday is also under way in different other parts of the country.
In East Rajabazar, residents are buying essentials online as all shops are closed. No one is allowed to enter or leave the area either. The authorities are allowing some hawkers after disinfection for those who are ineligible to buy commodities online.
The measures came after a nationwide lockdown for over two months failed to prevent the spread of the virus that is confirmed to have infected 119,198 people and killed 1,545 until Tuesday morning.
At the waste management programme inauguration, Atiqul said the city corporation will distribute special bags among the citizens to keep masks, gloves and other contagious materials.
The workers will collect these every Saturday and Tuesday from Jul 7. A private firm has been appointed to dispose of these waste materials at Matuail.
“We must remain alert so that Covid waste or contagious waste do not mix up with household waste,” Atiqul said.
