The government has decided to ease the ongoing nationwide lockdown  from Aug. 11 with a few guidelines to follow in different sectors and people’s movement and gatherings. The Cabinet Division issued a notification in this regard Sunday saying with some restrictions imposed during the lockdown will be lifted following the decision taken in an inter-ministerial meeting held on Aug. 3. From August 11, all the government, private offices and banks will be opened following the health guidelines, said the notification issued on Sunday. It said Bangladesh Supreme Court will issue necessary directives about the courts. Read: Lockdown or no lockdown, life is the same in Dhaka Road, railways and river transports will be allowed to carry passengers in full passenger capacity. However, in regard to road transports local administrations (Divisional Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners) are allowed to order half of the public transport to move every day after consulting with the relevant authorities and law enforcement forces.

Auto-rickshaw and light vehicle drivers have demanded that the government provides them emergency food and cash support to their families facing serious hardships due to nationwide 'strict nationwide lockdown'. In a statement on Saturday, Abul Hossain and Golam Faruk, President and General Secretary of the Bangladesh Auto-Rickshaw Light Vehicle Transport Workers Federation (BALTWF) respectively, said the lockdown has left them without any work and earning. Also read: Auto-rickshaw, light vehicles workers demand food, cash support amid 'lockdown' The BALTF leaders said they have already made appeals to different concerned government offices seeking cash and food support for the unemployed and unfed workers.      “Even, we made our appeals through a press conference on June 28 in the city”, the BALTWF leaders said. Also read: Auto-rickshaw drivers, light vehicle workers demand food support Transport workers are mainly day labourers. Their income has now totally stopped. “The transport workers feel that hunger is more critical for their lives than the Coronavirus.” “We need livelihoods to save our lives. That’s why we seek Prime Minister’s intervention to ensure cash and food support for the transport workers”, said the BALTWF statement.

The government will enforce an all out  lockdown from July 1  as the country grapples with a surge in coronavirus cases and fatalities with the highly infectious Delta variant playing havoc. Meanwhile, the country will go into the earlier announced strict lockdown ‘on a limited scale’ from Monday. The decision was taken at a high-level meeting, chaired by Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal in the chair on Saturday evening. State  Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain confirmed the development to UNB. “Nationwide lockdown will begin on Monday. However, for zonal closing of bills of the banking sector and various government offices at the end of the month, the maximum restrictions will kick in from July 1," he said. Details on the lockdown will be known after the government issues a notification on Sunday, the minister added. However, public transport will be suspended from Monday according to sources attending the meeting. Alsor read: COVID-19: Daily caseload drops on back of reduced tests, as positivity keeps rising Export-oriented  factories are likely to be exempted from the restrictions, they said. Earlier on Saturday, sources within Bangladesh Garment Exporters and Manufacturers Association (BGMEA) confirmed the news to UNB citing a circular issued by the organisation.

Jatiya Party Chairman GM Quader on Saturday warned that the nationwide lockdown, set to be enforced on Monday, will not be successful without ensuring food security for the crores of hardcore poor people of the country. “Hungry people can never be forced to stay indoors. Hunger and lockdown can’t go together,” he said in a statement. Quader, also the deputy leader of the opposition in parliament, said there is no alternative to lockdown if the Covid pandemic spreads alarmingly. READ: GM Quader fears dire social consequences of drug abuse “But there’re crores of hardworking people in the country who don’t have food in their stocks at homes as they manage their food based on their daily income,” he observed. The Jatiya Party chief also said the poor and the day-labourers have to buy medicines along with food and in some cases baby food. “They also have to pay house rent.” He said the families of crores of day labourers will suffer badly if they can’t work due to the lockdown. "It'll create a humanitarian catastrophe across the country." He also fears that the law-and-order situation in the country may collapse if people suffer from the scarcity of food and other necessary things. GM Quader said the government must ensure food security for the extremely poor and working people on humanitarian ground during the lockdown. Besides, the authorities concerned will have to take tough measures so that the government’s aid for the poor and destitute is not stolen. On Friday night, the government announced to enforce a fresh nationwide "strict lockdown" from Monday, as the country grapples with a surge in coronavirus cases and fatalities with the highly infectious Delta variant playing havoc. The restrictions will remain in place for seven days when the government and private offices, barring those of emergency services, will remain shut. READ: Not possible to tackle Covid with gifted vaccines: GM Quader The National Technical Advisory Committee on Covid-19 pandemic on Thursday recommended imposing a "nationwide shutdown" for two weeks to contain the worsening Covid-19 situation in the country.

The government is going to enforce a new nationwide "strict lockdown" on Monday, as the country grapples with a surge in coronavirus cases and fatalities with the highly infectious Delta variant playing havoc. The restrictions will remain in place for seven days, said Press Information Department Principal Information Officer Surath Kumar Sarker. Government and private offices, barring those of emergency services, will remain shut during this period. All modes of transport, except those carrying emergency goods, will also remain suspended and nobody will be allowed to go out unless there is an emergency. Also read: From bad to worse: Bangladesh reports 108 new Covid deaths, 5,869 cases However, the restrictions will not apply to the media, ambulances, and vehicles used for medical purposes. The Cabinet Division will come up with details regarding the "strict lockdown" on Saturday, Surath said. The repeated lockdowns have become a threat to the livelihoods of many in Bangladesh while disrupting travel and social lives. However, experts hope that stricter rules will bring positivity rates and fatalities down as the country is battling to get a second coronavirus wave under control. Also read: Bangladesh may see dreadful Covid peak ahead of Eid, experts warn The National Technical Advisory Committee on Covid-19 pandemic on Thursday recommended imposing a "nationwide shutdown" for two weeks considering the worsening Covid-19 situation in the country. Community transmission of the highly transmissible Delta variant of coronavirus might be the reason behind the current Covid-19 situation in the country, said the committee. It used the example of India to emphasise that no step other than a "complete shutdown" might be enough to prevent the spread of the Delta variant. Bangladesh has seen a spike in coronavirus infections and fatalities in recent weeks, with the country reporting its second-highest fatalities – 108 new deaths – and 5,869 cases Friday. It has now seen 878,804 cases and 13,976 deaths.

The countrywide lockdown will not be necessary if Covid-19 transmission can be controlled in Dhaka and its adjacent districts, says the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). DGHS spokesperson Dr Robed Amin came up with the remark at its daily virtual briefing on Covid-19 on Wednesday. “We’re observing the infection rates both in Dhaka and the surrounding districts. If the situation worsens in the capital first, a lockdown will be imposed in Dhaka and then across the country,” he said. Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh reports 85 more deaths, positivity rate crosses 20% In response to a question about vaccines, Dr Amin said Bangladesh has a shortage of Oxford AstraZeneca vaccine doses. “Such deficit is there across the world. Although many stakeholders have assured us of providing vaccines from their stocks, nothing is final until we receive those,” he said. Dr Amin said the vaccine that Oxford has is the vector vaccine and many other organizations have such vaccines. Also read: 16 more Covid patients die at Rajshahi hospital “For example, there is a vaccine that comes from the Russian research institute Gamalia Research Institute, another from the Chinese biopharmaceutical company Cancino, and Johnson & Johnson also has a similar one in the United States. Even if we get such alternative vaccines, it will be possible to solve the problem of the second dose vaccine in the country,” the DGHS spokesperson added.

A week ago, a crisis hit the family of Shahed Alam's best friend -- there was no donor available to donate blood for his pal's cancer-stricken father. After unsuccessfully knocking the doors of blood banks across the city for two days, Shahed finally decided to harness the power of social media on Saturday, but to no avail. "I have been trying hard to arrange blood for my friend's father -- a cancer patient admitted to Mohakhali Cancer Hospital -- since last week. But finding donors is turning out to be a Herculean task amid the nationwide lockdown. Due to strict movement restrictions and the fear of Covid, blood donors are just not stepping out of their homes," he told UNB. Yes, the Covid-19 lockdown has severely affected the movements of donors across the country, triggering a massive shortage of blood. Most blood banks in the capital as well as other parts of Bangladesh are running short of life-saving blood. "Blood donors are just reluctant to come out these days. And those who do are often subjected to grilling at police check posts across the city. This is because the Good Samaritans don't possess the mandatory movement passes, and convincing the sentry at a police check post is also a time-consuming affair," said another city resident. Also read: PCR machine reaches RMCH for COVID-19 test Bangladesh's annual demand for blood is around 8 lakh units. About 25% of the nation's annual blood requirement come from voluntary donation, 20–25% from paid donors, and 50–55% from one-time donation for a particular patient. But the country has seen a drastic fall in both voluntary and direct blood donations in recent weeks. The decline in blood donations has triggered a chain reaction -- plasma collection has been hit hard. Plasma is the liquid portion of blood that contains antibodies. Many countries have already allowed the use of plasma therapy to treat severely ill Covid patients. The therapy involves the use of plasma of recovered Covid patients as a potential treatment.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) onSunday said they will suspend all international flights as the government is going to impose a strict lockdown from April 14 to contain the spread of Covid-19. "Decision on international flights has been taken during an inter-ministerial meeting in the evening," said CAAB Chairman of Air Vice Marshal M Mofidur Rahman. "We made the move following the government's lockdown directives," he said. However, there will be no restriction on the movement of chartered flights, cargo flights and special flights carrying high commissioners of different countries and foreign nationals. Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh records highest single-day deaths The flight operations on domestic routes have remained suspended since the enforcement of the seven-day lockdown in the country from April 5. Also, on April 1, the civil aviation regulator suspended the entry of passengers from all European countries, except the UK, and 12 other countries to Bangladesh from April 3. As the spread of Covid-19 has sparked alarm across the country, the government is set to issue a notification on Sunday over enforcing a fresh nationwide lockdown from April 14 in its desperate bid to stop the spread of the deadly virus. Also read: Worsening Covid crisis: Bangladesh resorting to full lockdown Bangladesh, a densely populated country, is facing the wraths of the Covid-19 pandemic as people continue to defy health protocols despite warnings both from the government and experts. On Saturday, the country registered 77 more deaths in 24 hours until Saturday morning, shattering all of its previous records. The number of Covid-19 cases dropped slightly to 5,343, said the Directorate General of Health Services.

Hefazat-e-Islam’s chief Junaid Babunagri has said that the recitation of the holy Quran and prayers during Ramadan will stop the spread of the coronavirus. He said they will not allow the government to shut down madrasas in the pretext of lockdown and called for allowing people to pray at mosques during the month of fasting. “We won’t allow shutting down of madrasas in the pretext of lockdown to curb coronavirus and stopping prayers at mosques. Taraweeh, Jum’a prayers and ‘Etekaf’ will continue,” he said after an emergency meeting of Hefazat at Hathazari on Sunday. Also read: Worsening Covid crisis: Bangladesh resorting to full lockdown He said the National Ulama Mashayekh Council would take place on May 29 at Hathazari. “Coronavirus won’t have any effect because of recitation of the Quran, [discussion on] Hadith and prayers at religious gatherings,” the Hefazat chief said. Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh records highest single-day deaths “No madrasa student or religious scholar has been infected with coronavirus. The virus won’t infect because of religious gatherings and prayers during Iftaar,” he added. When asked about Mamunul Haq’s resort incident, Babunagri said it was a “personal affair”.

The export-oriented industries in the country will remain open during the lockdown, Faruque Hossain, the president-elect of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), said Sunday. He said a special meeting was held on April 9 with Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi. Along with Faruque, former BGMEA presidents Shafiul Islam Mohiuddin and Salam Murshedi, BKMEA President Selim Osman, and BTMA President Mohammad Ali Khokon participated in the meeting. The goal was to avoid the impending crisis of RMG and export-oriented factory closure during lockdown. Also read: Worsening Covid crisis: Bangladesh resorting to full lockdown In a statement sent to the media, Faruque said the team “effectively negotiated” and pleaded the cases in favour of keeping factories open to all key policy and decision-makers of the government including the Cabinet Secretary and Principal Secretary as well as the prime minister.