The government has no plan right now to shut educational institutions even though Covid-19 cases keep rising across the world, said Health Minister Zahid Maleque.

“Covid infections are on the rise in many countries but it is still under control in Bangladesh. The educational institutions are here and the government has no plan to close those now,” he said.

The Health Minister came up with the information while talking to reporters at a programme on distributing blankets among destitute people in Manikganj on Saturday.

The government has decided to operate public transport, including buses and trains at half of their capacities to contain the spread of Covid-19, he said adding, “The directives will come soon to enforce the decision.”

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The government has taken some steps to stem the Covid-19 and the hospitals, nurses and physicians in the districts and upazilas have been kept ready to provide medical services, said Maleque.

Besides, the government decided to close shops and markets by 8 pm and not to allow unvaccinated people to take food at restaurants, he said.

Issuing a note of  warning that people will be fined through mobile courts if found without masks, the minister said, “As the Covid-19 situation in the country is under control, the wheels of the economy are still moving and the production activities in factories are seen as normal. The students are able to attend their classes.”

He also urged all to maintain health guidelines properly to keep the situation stable.

On January 4, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) issued a 15-point guideline to prevent the highly-transmittable African variant of the virus.

The government is not considering any lockdown in the country right now and it will think about it if the infection rate goes up further, said the health minister. “We don’t want any lockdown. But we’ve to maintain health protocols. The government will take tough measures to force people to maintain health protocols,” said the minister while talking to local journalists after attending a booster dose launching event at Manikganj Nursing College on January 1.

After a long closure due to the pandemic, the students of schools and colleges in Bangladesh returned to their classrooms on September 12 last year.

READ: Unvaccinated people cannot dine in restaurants: Health Minister

The government shut the educational institutions on March 17, 2020, after the country reported its first Covid-19 cases on March 8 and later the closure was extended several times.