Eid-ul-Azha, the second largest religious festival of Muslims, will be celebrated in Bangladesh on Wednesday with Covid-19’s Delta variant wreaking havoc across the country, shattering death records almost every day. Bangladesh is now battling the deadlier 2nd wave of Covid-19 with over 200 deaths on average over the last two weeks. Concerns are growing among people over possible hike in Covid deaths and cases after the celebrations of Eid-ul-Azha as the movement of people increased remarkably after the withdrawal of the strict lockdown ahead of Eid. A large number of people left the capital in crowded vehicles ignoring the Covid transmission risk. Eid-ul-Azha is celebrated on the 10th of Zilhaj to commemorate the true spirit of sacrifice made by Prophet Ibrahim (AS). On this day, Prophet Ibrahim had offered to sacrifice his son, Ismail, who willingly submitted to the will of his father to please Allah.   But the Almighty in His benign mercy spared Hazrat Ismail (AS) and instead sent a ram to be sacrificed. Also read: Bangladesh loses 200 more lives amid its grim battle with Covid Meanwhile, the government has taken various safety measures to make that the celebration does not help the pandemic worsens further. This year, Eid jamaats in different areas across the country would be held as per decisions taken by local administrations in consultation with public representatives and local dignitaries depending upon the Covid situation in their respective areas and maintaining recommended health guidelines. The Religious Affairs Ministry issued some guidelines on offering Eid-ul-Azha prayer on Tuesday. As per the guidelines, no carpet will be allowed at mosques while mosques will be disinfected before prayers. The devotees have been asked to bring prayer mats from home.   The devotees must wear masks inside mosques and avoid using prayer mats and caps that were stored earlier there.   Also read: Gazipur gridlocked amid pandemic as hundreds head home for Eid It also suggested devotees go to mosques with ablution and wash their hands for 20 seconds with soap. Soaps, hand sanitizers and water should be available at the place where people make ablution at the entrance of mosques or Eidgahs. Devotees should maintain distance from each other following health guidelines. Children, elderly people, people with physical ailment, and those involved in taking care of patients will not be allowed to attend Eid prayer. All have to abide by the directives of the Health Service Division, local administrations and law enforcement agencies. Besides, the devotees were advised to shun handshaking and hugging after the Eid prayer which has been a common practice throughout the world. The Religious Affairs Ministry urged the imams and managing committees of mosques to ensure proper implementation of the directives.  Also read: Five Eid jamaats to be held at National Mosque The Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock issued specific guidelines over sacrificing animals. Local administrations, law enforcement agencies, public representatives, staffers of the Islamic Foundation and managing committees of mosques would be implementing the directives. Eid jamaats at national mosque Five Eid jamaats will be held at the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque from 7 am on the day of Eid-ul-Azha. The Islamic Foundation, Bangladesh revealed the schedules in a media release on Sunday. The first Eid jamaat will be held at 7am and the next at 8am, 9am, 10 am and 10:45 am.

Opposing the lifting of lockdown ahead of Eid-ul-Azha, BNP on Friday feared that it will help spread the Covid transmission across the country, turning the country into a deathtrap. "The government has lifted the lockdown in an unplanned way on the occasion of Eid allowing people to go home. People will go home and again come back to Dhaka from villages and thus the virus will spread all over the country,” said party standing committee member Iqbal Hasan Mahmud Tuku. Speaking at a virtual press conference, on behalf of BNP’s corona infection monitoring committee, he also said the Delta variant is very dangerous as it is 70 percent more contagious than other variants.  READ: BNP demands law to ensure proper compensation for factory accidents “So we’re worried that the measures the government has taken only to help spread corona across the country and it may turn into a death valley in the end,” the BNP leader observed. He alleged that corona-infected people in rural areas are not getting treatment, medicine and oxygen in district hospitals for lack of beds. “The health system across the country is now in a complete mess.” Under the circumstances, the BNP leader said their party standing committee has decided to open corona help centres in the party’s offices in every district with the help of Ziaur Rahman Foundation and Doctors' Association of Bangladesh (DAB). He said they have so far opened corona help centre in 53 districts. “As the largest political party in the country, we will stand by people at this bad time.” He said their party’s help centre will give people an ambulance service and reach oxygen cylinders to their homes alongside providing people treatment and medicines through different apps. Tuku said their party proposed the government to make the lockdown a success by giving the poor, the marginalised and unemployed people giving Tk 15,000 as cash support for three months. “But the government did not do that. They announced incentives, but we don't know to whom they are giving the money. If you go to slums and ask them whether they’ve received the money, you'll get the right answer,” the BNP leader said. READ: Quader urges BNP to stop spreading lies about Covid vaccine Tuku alleged that police shut their party’s help centre in Barguna district on Thursday, saying BNP's help service is not needed. "We would like to urge the government you please allow us to stand by people and help them.”

Thakurgaon logged 132 fresh Covid cases and seven deaths in 24 hours till Sunday morning. The new cases of infections were detected after the test of 386 samples, said civil surgeon Dr Mahfuzar Rahman Sarkar. "The new cases have pushed up the district’s positivity rate to 46.15%," he said. Of the total infected people, 46 were from Sadar upazila, 15 from Baliadangi, 21 from Pirganj, 40 from Ranishankoil and nine from Haripur upazilas of the district. So far, some 3735 people in Thakurgaon have been infected with the virus, while 94 have died of Covid. Also read: Thakurgaon records highest single-day rise in Covid cases at 109 Some 2261 people have recovered from the deadly virus as of now. Meanwhile, the local administration has filed 32 cases and fined people Tk 28,100 for flouting lockdown rules on Saturday. Also read: Cattle markets in Thakurgaon closed for a week due to Covid-19 The government imposed a nationwide lockdown on July 1 for one week to break the chain of Covid transmission. Read:Thakurgaon seals border areas to contain Covid

The local administration on Thursday sealed off a busy village bazar in Kushtia's Mirpur upazila to prevent Covid-19 transmission. Mirpur Upazila Nirbahi Officer Linkon Biswas made the announcement on Wednesday afternoon. Read: Covid-19: Restrictions imposed in Kushtia "A resident of Old Azampur village went to Chapainawabganj for work some days ago. After returning from the district, he tested positive for Covid-19. He is now undergoing treatment at Kushtia General Hospital,"  Linkon said. Two family members of the patient also tested positive for Covid-19. "However, they are recuperating at home," the UNO said, adding that the man might have been infected with the Delta variant. As the man went to Azampur Bazar after his return from Chapainawabganj, the local administration decided to seal it off for seven days.  Read: Two Indian returnees tested positive for Covid in Kushtia Besides, the house of the infected person is in the vicinity, the UNO said. According to the local health authorities, four Covid patients have died in Kushtia in the past 24 hours. Not to mention that corona cases are on the rise in the district.  

Authorities in Chapainawabganj on Tuesday imposed a week-long lockdown to break the chain of Covid transmission.   All intra-district and long-distance buses as well as private vehicles would stay off the roads during the lockdown. However, no such restrictions apply on the movement of vehicles ferrying goods.   Train services to and from the district have also been suspended in the wake of the recent surge in Covid cases in Chapainawabganj.   Moreover, all shops, markets and restaurants would remain closed, albeit for grocery stores and pharmacies. This would allow people to buy their daily essentials and medicines from their local grocers and chemists.  Read:Covid-19: Bangladesh sees 25 more deaths, 1,441 new cases   Officials of the local administration and police personnel have been deployed on all the major roads of the district to ensure strict compliance.   Besides, as many as 27 checkpoints have been set up across the district to curb the movement of people, unless for specific reasons. "Cops will also patrol the streets of the district to make the lockdown a success," said an official.   Health officials said the lockdown would help stem the spread of coronavirus in the district.   Civil Surgeon Dr Zahid Nazrul Chowdhury said, "Some 82 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, of a total of 202 samples tested. The infection rate is 45 percent in the district." Read:Inter-district public transport services finally back; passengers happy   With the latest figure, the district's Covid tally has reached 1,393. Of them, some 1,030 people have recovered to date. As many as 28 people have died from the virus so far. Currently, 286 people are undergoing treatment at different hospitals.    

Commuters staged demonstrations after blocking road in the city’s Nilkhet area as they failed to board buses and other public transports after the government’s directive to carry 50 percent passengers in public buses to check Covid transmission. Also read:25-30% bus seats must be kept empty, no standing ... Sabbir Ahmed, officer-in-charge of Khilkhet Police Station, said some people staged demonstrations on the road around 9 am halting the movement of some buses as they failed to board buses to reach their destinations. However, traffic movement returned to normal after12 pm. Sufferings of commuters mounted as Bangladesh Road Transport Authority(BRTA) imposed a ban for two weeks on app-based motorcycle ride sharing services following the fresh surge of coronavirus.  Ride sharing bikers also staged demonstrations in the city’s Badda area and in front of the Jatiya Press Club demanding the government to allow them to operate the service. Also read:Bus services resume as restriction ends; Passengers low A huge number of people were seen waiting for buses since morning in different areas and some of them hired rickshaws and CNG-run autorickshaw to reach their destinations.  In the wake of growing Covid-19 cases, the government asked the operators to carry 50 percent passengers of their capacity to maintain social distancing. It has increased the fares of public transport by 60 percent across the country on March 30. The order will remain in force for the next two weeks. The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on March 29 issued an 18-point directive for the next two weeks in an effort to contain the spread of the coronavirus in Bangladesh. Also read:Govt increases bus fares by 60 pc

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.