Although public transport movement remained suspended, thousands of people started returning to Dhaka on the 9th day of ‘strict’ lockdown on Saturday following the government’s announcement that mills and factories will reopen on Sunday (Aug 1).

At the entry points of Dhaka, those who had left the capital for Eid-ul-Azha and did not return due to the closure of factories were seen entering the city on foot amid the lockdown.

They were found walking into the capital through Abdullahpur Tongi Bridge, Ashulia Bridge, Aminbazar Bridge, Gabtoli, Babubazar Bridge and Postagola Bridge.

Shimulia ferry terminal in Munshiganj also saw a huge crowd as people from south western districts are coming back to the capital to join their work.

Also read: Breaching Lockdown: 585 arrested, Tk 8.9 lakh realised in fines

However, the streets in Dhaka saw a lower   number of private vehicles as Saturday is a public holiday.

Visiting Gabtoli, Technical Intersection, Kamalapur, Shyamoli, Asadgate, New Market and Mirpur areas and Uttara, Abdullahpur, Banani, Mohakhali, Airport, Satrasta, Kakrail, Matshya Bhaban, the UNB correspondent found that the number of private vehicles is thinner than working days.

Traffic inspector (Mohakhali) Asaduzzaman, said, “Today is a weekly holiday and that’s why the number of private vehicles and people’s movement in the city are relatively fewer than the working days. Law enforcement agencies are on alert and mobile court drives are operating.”

However, the movement of three-wheeler rickshaws is also thin on roads.

Members of the police, Rab and BGB were seen patrolling the city streets and checking vehicles at check posts in different parts of the capital.

Also read: Ferry services only for ambulances, goods-laden vehicles

Most shops on main roads remained closed since morning but the small ones in lanes and by-lanes were found open and those will be shut soon after the scheduled time.

As per the government instructions, only ambulances and those providing emergency services are allowed for movement in the capital. 

Reimposed at 8 am on July 23, the second round of strict lockdown will be in force till August 5, unless extended further.

The ongoing stringent lockdown has been recommended for extension after August 5, said the Director General of the Directorate General (DG) of Health Services (DGHS) Prof Dr ABM Khurshid Alam on Friday.

"We’ve recommended at the cabinet meeting ten days ago that the restrictions be increased, although no decision has been made yet," he told reporters.

The DG also said there is no doubt that the situation will get worse if the coronavirus infection rate keeps rising, and that is why the recommendation was made.

Read: Bangladesh ready to go into 'strict lockdown' from Monday

Bangladesh Covid situation

As Bangladesh races to head off a surge in Covid-19 cases driven by the Delta variant, the country added 212 fatalities to its national tally on Friday, up from 166 logged a week earlier.

The country has been shattering its records of daily cases and deaths almost every other day, reporting over 200 single-day fatalities for the last six days as it tries to prevent the spread of the Delta variant.

The rapid rise in cases and fatalities in July is enough to set off alarm bells, showing the pandemic is far from slowing down in Bangladesh.

The Covid-19 infections are at their peak now, with 12,293 new cases reported on average each day, plunging the country into uncertainty.

As the worst days of the pandemic are not over, Bangladesh recorded 13,862 new cases on Friday after testing 45,044 samples, up from 6,364 logged a week earlier on 23 July.

The country reported the highest daily Covid-19 fatality number – 258 – on July 27 and 16,230 infections the next day.

There have been 1,240,115 infections and 20,467 coronavirus-related deaths here since the pandemic began, according to the Directorate General of Health Services.