The government has decided to again extend the ongoing restrictions on public movement and gathering in a bid to stop further spread of Covid-19.
Health experts also suggested that the current restrictions should continue to reduce the risk of the deadly virus in the country.
The government will issue a gazette notification regarding this soon, State Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain told media on Saturday.
This year, the government initially imposed the countrywide restrictions on public movement on April 5, with the strict lockdown put into effect from April 14. The lockdown was later extended till May 16.
The junior minister, while talking to an English daily, said that police may get magistracy power to ensure that people wear masks and if approved, the law will be amended.
He said: “President Abdul Hamid is likely to promulgate an ordinance to make the law effective once the matter is finalized.”
Farhad Hossain also emphasized on the importance of wearing masks and maintaining the health safety guidelines everywhere, including zila and upazila municipality areas, to bring Covid-19 infections and deaths down.
“Bangladesh will not be able to contain the deadly virus without ensuring masks at all levels,” he said on Thursday, adding, “We are working to give the police magistracy power by amending the Infectious Diseases (Prevention, Control, and Eradication) Act-2018 due to the lack of manpower to conduct mobile courts.”
Farhad said that the government fears that virus cases may soar again after May 23 due to people going to markets, visiting their village homes while defying all the restrictions imposed, and the presence of the Indian Covid-19 variant.
According to the latest figures, Bangladesh registered 26 deaths from Covid-19 in the 24 hours till Friday morning, taking the total number of deaths in the country to 12,102.
It also reported 848 new cases, taking the tally so far to 779,535.
Amid a shortage of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, Bangladesh on May 12 received 500,000 doses of China’s Sinopharm vaccine as a gift.
On April 26, Bangladesh closed its borders with India for 14 days for passengers. In the meantime, the country detected its first cases of the Indian coronavirus variant, prompting the authorities to extend the closure of the land borders for two more weeks.
