The government may extend the general holidays again for a week with some additional instructions to curb the spread of the coronavirus pandemic in the country.
To ensure social distancing in order to prevent the novel coronavirus from spreading further, Bangladesh has been observing general holidays since March 26, which is set to continue until April 25. It will cross the one-month mark if it is extended again.
The extension of holidays was recommended at an inter-ministerial meeting held on Tuesday over the coronavirus crisis and preventive measures via videoconferencing.
Health Minister Zahid Maleque chaired the meeting, with several other ministers and secretaries in attendance.
Bangladesh confirmed nine more deaths due to coronavirus infection in the last 24 hours, taking the number of deaths to 110 in the country.
Besides, 434 more people tested positive for Covid-19 over the same period, raising the total number of confirmed cases to 3,382.
Maleque was not available over telephone after the meeting, but Farhad Hossain, the state minister for Public Administration, said: “A circular might be issued on Wednesday confirming the public holiday extension.”
“Some new instructions will be added to the circular to combat the crisis,” he told Dhaka Tribune.
However, officials are yet to confirm how many days will be added to the extension in the new order.
The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has recommended extending the holidays by a week.
“A meeting was held today, but we are yet to get instructions over the holiday extension,” said Yusuf Harun, secretary of the Public Administration Ministry.
