The government is adopting extreme measures to tackle the growing covid infections as people are still reluctant to adhere to health guidelines, putting themselves and others at risk.

“Everything except emergency services will remain shut from April 14. A complete lockdown is coming from April 14 to 20 April,” State Minister of Public Administration Farhad Hossain told UNB on Friday.

Covid infections rose sharply this year in Bangladesh after a dip, prompting the government to issue an 18-point directive for people. But that did not work, forcing the government to go for a seven-day lockdown. People moved on as usual and businesses protested against the lockdown, forcing the government to permit operation of businesses and public transport partially.

Also read: Govt considering complete lockdown from April 14: Quader

Last week, the country saw a record number of daily infections and deaths. The situation could soon go downhill if people continued to show apathy towards covid guidelines.

Farhad said people would not be allowed to move from one area to another during the lockdown. “People won’t be allowed to get out of their houses without emergency needs,” he said, hoping that an official notice in this regard would be issued soon.

A letter on Friday signed by Prof Mohammad Sahidullah, President of COVID-19 National Advisory Committee, noted that the coronavirus transmission is on the rise and that people are not following the instructions issued by the cabinet.

Also read: Covid-19: Hasina for balancing livelihoods and public health

The committee said the situation cannot be controlled without a complete lockdown for at least two weeks. A decision on extending the lockdown can be taken considering the rate of infection before the end of the two-week period, the committee said.

What’s Bangladesh’s coronavirus situation

Bangladesh reported its first covid cases on March 8 last year and the first death on the 18th of that month. So far, 673,594 cases have been confirmed. The death tally now stands at 9,584.

On Friday, the health authorities recorded over 7,000 cases for the fifth time in six days. In a 24-hour period until the morning, 7,462 new cases were registered with the infection rate jumping to 23.57 percent. Sixty-three deaths were also reported at this time.

Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh records 7000+ cases for fifth day

The number of cases was 6,854 on Thursday. On April 4, the country recorded 7,087 covid cases and 7,075 the next day. On April 6, the number was 7,213, followed by 7,626 the next day.