Vessels will carry passengers half of their capacities and maintain health guidelines to curb the transmission of Covid-19. State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury disclosed this on Wednesday after a meeting at the Ministry of Shipping. The fares of river transports will be increased from Thursday and the new rates of fares will be fixed after a meeting with river transport owners today, he said. The state minister said passengers have to get on the launch in compliance with the health rules and legal action will be taken if the health rules are not followed. Also read: Launch, steamer services to resume Sunday on 34 river routes He also added that number of vessels will also be increased alongside fare hike. The state minister warned that punitive action will be taken against launches owners if they charge more than the amount which would be fixed by the ministry or carry additional passengers. The carrying of all types of covered vans and trucks in ferries except those carrying essential goods will remain stopped for three days before Eid and the restriction will continue till three days after Eid, said the state minister. Also read: Govt increases bus fares by 60 pc Roads from Sadarghat to Bahadur Shah Park should be kept free from traffic jams and Sadarghat terminals and launches should be kept hawker-free, said the state minister.  Passengers traveling on the waterways can contact BIWTA hotline number: 18113 for any emergency and service related matters.  

Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) Mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh has urged the shopkeepers and owners of business establishments to  close those by 8 pm to prevent the transmission of Covid-19. The DSCC mayor came up with the request while talking to reporters after visiting Gopibagh Boys’ Club field in the city on Wednesday. Also read:Taposh promises masterplan to solve waterlogging 'soon' “I’ve two requests to Dhaka dwellers -- please close shops and all business establishments by 8 pm as the Coronavirus infection rate is on the rise again,” the mayor said. The government has issued a public notice in this regard, he said, adding that the transmission rate will come down if health safety protocols are maintained.   DSCC Chief Executive Officer ABM Amin Ullah, Chief Waste Management Officer Air Commodore Md Badrul Amin, Chief Engineer Rezaur Rahman, Secretary Akramuzzaman were,  among others, present. Also read:Taposh and Khokon going pound-for-pound at each other   Meanwhile, 3,554 people were diagnosed with Covid-19 in Bangladesh in 24 hours till Tuesday morning, the highest number of infections registered by the country in a single day. Bangladesh also recorded 18 more Covid-related deaths during the period, raising the death toll to 8,738. With the fresh cases, Bangladesh has seen the worst daily increase since July 15, 2020, pushing up the total infections to 525,994. The infection rate jumped to 13.69 percent from 11.19 percent a day before. Bangladesh is seeing an alarming rise in coronavirus infections in the past few weeks after a downtrend in both the death toll and new cases. On January 19, Bangladesh reported its virus infection rate at just 5 percent and at one stage it fell below 3 percent. The cases have started soaring again since February 9. Also read:Taposh wins DSCC election by big margin Bangladesh reported its first Covid-19 cases on March 8, 2020, and the first death on March 18 the same year. In Bangladesh, Covid-19 tests are conducted at 118 government and private hospitals.