Hasina orders govt officials to wear masks while on duty

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has ordered government officials to wear masks while performing their duties as Bangladesh grapples with a novel coronavirus outbreak.

The prime minister’s Press Secretary Ihsanul Karim informed reporters about her instructions on Thursday.

Social distancing, home quarantine and shutdowns have been instructed by the government to halt the spread of coronavirus. Those who got out faced questions from authorities. Police stopped almost all sorts of vehicles and questioned the passengers at Chankharpool intersection on Wednesday. Photo: Mahmud Zaman Ovi

The government announced a general holiday, initially from Mar 26-Apr 4 before extending it to Apr 11 to safeguard against the spread of the virus.

“This holiday is not for sitting at home idly. Everyone must work from home. But distance must be maintained from others,” Hasina said recently.

Bangladesh has confirmed 56 cases of the coronavirus infection with six deaths so far.