The government has allowed all stores and shopping malls to reopen on Friday, altering the lockdown rules designed to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
Shopping places will be allowed to operate from 9 am to 5 pm, subject to strict hygiene rules, according to a notice issued by the Cabinet Division on Thursday.
The latest decision significantly removes pandemic curbs on business activity.
The government imposed a seven-day lockdown from Monday as coronavirus cases and deaths surged across the country.
However, factories are open with employees working shifts by following hygiene rules. Public transport services in Dhaka and other city corporation areas resumed on Wednesday.
In an effort to enforce the lockdown, the government issued an 11-point directive allowing the government and private offices and banks to operate on a limited scale. The lockdown rules came after an 18-point directive, including a reminder of mask and physical distancing rules, in a bid to curb the virus upsurge.
The first lockdown, described as a general holiday by the government along with a transport shutdown, started on Mar 26, 2020 after the first COVID-19 cases and deaths were reported in Bangladesh.
