The restrictions on movement are likely to be relaxed to some extent from April 28, two weeks before the Eid-ul-Fitr, the biggest religious festival of the Muslims. But there has not been any final decision yet and it is not clear right now to which extent the restrictions will be slackened. “The decision will be taken on April 28,” State Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain told UNB. Read Extension of lockdown causing anxiety among low income earners  “Even if the restrictions are relaxed, we’ll have to properly maintain health guidelines and the government will ensure strict implementation of ‘no mask, no service’ policy,” he said. State Minister Farhad said health guidelines will be ensured after the shops and shopping malls are opened from April 25. “Covid infections can be kept in check if all of us follow health guidelines, wear masks and maintain recommended physical distancing,” he said. “We’ll get a positive result if we follow the restrictions until April 28. We’re focusing on health rules.” Also read: Govt issues circular extending lockdown until April 28 No decision on public transport Asked what the relaxed lockdown will look like, State Minister Farhad said there won’t be many restrictions. “The existing ones will be limited. There’ll be guidelines for daily life,” he said. A circular will be issued within April 28 on the operation of offices. Farhad said they are discussing the public transport issue. “There hasn’t been any decision yet. But once they resume, we’ll ensure that health rules are strictly followed,” he noted. Read More people, vehicles on Dhaka roads in defiance of lockdown rules

Bangladesh recorded 88 coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours until Friday morning as the country grapples to tackle the second wave of the virus. The health authorities also reported 3,629 new cases, said the Directorate General of Health Services in a handout. The coronavirus death toll now stands at 10,869 with the mortality rate slightly rising to 1.47 percent after staying at 1.46 for the last two days. Meanwhile, the daily infection rate fell to 14 percent from Thursday’s 14.63 percent. Between April 16 and 19, the country recorded over 100 deaths breaking previous daily records. Bangladesh saw 91, 95 and 98 Covid-related deaths on April 20, 21 and 22 respectively. Bangladesh reported its first coronavirus cases on March 8 last year and the first death on the 18th of that month. Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh sees 98 more deaths, 4014 new infections Health authorities have so far confirmed 739,703 cases. Among them, 647,674 people - 87.56 percent of all patients – have recovered.

Though the coronavirus transmission has been surging alarmingly in the country, the government has no visible steps to contain the pace of outbreak of the deadly virus, BNP alleged on Tuesday. “Corona infection is growing alarmingly. We saw an 18-point directive was issued yesterday (Monday), but the government has not taken any visible step to implement it,” said BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir. He made the remarks while speaking at a press conference at BNP Chairperson’s Gulshan office. The BNP leader said there is a false campaign that the government is effectively tackling the Covid situation. “The fact is that they (govt) can’t control the virus, but they’re lying. The government should have a strong campaign and effective steps to enforce the 18-point directive, but it's missing.” He accused the government of hiding the facts and data about the real Covid situation in the country and not conducting adequate tests to quickly identify the infected people. “People are not getting adequate opportunities to undergo tests not only in Dhaka, but also elsewhere in Bangladesh. The government is fully responsible for this situation. They never realised the importance of creating a national unity to overcome the pandemic,” he observed. Stating that using masks is essential to prevent the virus outbreak, the BNP leader said people are showing apathy to it as the government has failed to motivate them and create awareness among them in this regard through a mass campaign. He said the government did not suspend different state programmes relating to the celebration of the Golden Jubilee of Independence and the birth centenary of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman though the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) had warned of deterioration in Covid situation. Fakhrul alleged that the government is not taking proper steps to get rid of the corona outbreak as it is not accountable to people. “This government is not elected by people’s votes. An unelected government can’t have any responsibility towards people.” He said the government’s main target is now to ‘hang onto’ power by any means and ‘plunder’ public money.

The Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) have cleared Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine for use after testing samples of the 5 million doses brought from India on Monday.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina paid a courtesy call on President Abdul Hamid on Monday evening.