Bangladesh extends lockdown by another week to Jun 6

Bangladesh has decided to extend its current lockdown restrictions by another week to Jun 6.

In a notice on Sunday, the Cabinet Division said the decision was made after taking the current state of the coronavirus pandemic into account.

The government started a nationwide lockdown on Apr 5 to tackle a second wave of infections during which confirmed cases rose past 7,000 with more than 100 deaths in daily counts.

On Apr 14, restrictions were further strengthened in what came to be known as the ‘strictest lockdown’ in which people were barred from going outside, except for an emergency, in an effort to contain a massive spike in COVID cases.

The restrictions shut public and private offices and public transport services, except those providing emergency services. But factories were allowed to remain open if they followed health regulations.

The government later allowed buses and trains to carry passengers to half of their capacity, while it lifted restrictions on the dine-in services of restaurants.