The leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and concerted effort of the people will help turn Bangladesh into a ‘Sonar Bangla’ as envisioned by Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman before 2041, Information Minister Hasan Mahmud said Friday.

The health condition of Gonoshasthaya Kendra founder Dr Zafrullah Chowdhury, who is battling coronavirus and pneumonia, improved on Wednesday.

The government is preparing the national budget taking into account the possibility of recession amid the coronavirus pandemic, Information Minister Hasan Mahmud said Wednesday.

The government has issued a gazette notification allowing limited operation of public transport and offices from May 31 to June 15 amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Bangladesh saw further rise in coronavirus cases as the health authorities confirmed the detection of  1617 more new cases in the span of 24 hours on Wednesday, raising the number of total cases to 26,738. .

A number of restaurants have reopened in Dhaka to offer Iftar items but scant customers mean that they are hardly making any profit as most people stay indoors to protect themselves from coronavirus.

Bangladesh on Saturday reported its second death from coronavirus and identification of four new patients, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 24.

Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) on Saturday announced that it will follow the ‘work from home’ policy from March 22, aiming to prevent the transmission of coronavirus.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday urged all not to hoard food grains and other essential items out of panic as the country has enough stock of everything.

As public transport and mass gatherings pose a high risk for Covid-19 transmission, the government will consider suspension of bus, train and launch services in the country if the coronavirus situation worsens, said ministers.   Railways Minister Md Nurul Islam Sujan has said they have taken some pre-cautionary measures at trains and railway stations as per directives of the Health Ministry to prevent the spread of deadly coronavirus. “If the situation turns worse, the government will take initiatives to stop train services for a certain period,” he told UNB.   The body temperature of passengers is being checked at major railway stations of the country, including Kamalapur, Airport, Chattogram, Rajshahi, Khulna and Sylhet, before they enter those, he said.   Railway staff and physicians are conducting the screening of passengers, the minister added.   Besides, conservancy workers are cleaning seats and handles of all trains before passengers embark those, he said, acknowledging the shortage of medicines for disinfecting train bogies. “We’ll talk to the Health Ministry in this regard.”   Passengers are requested to use masks during journey and authorities concerned are making announcement through loudspeakers for creating awareness about coronavirus, Sujan said.