Bangladesh contemplates full lockdown

Bangladesh contemplates full lockdown

DHAKA: Bangladesh’s government is contemplating imposing a “full lockdown” for one week from April 14 in an effort to curb the recent resurgence of new Covid-19 cases, a Minister announced.

Road, Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader’s announcement on Friday came after the government on Monday enforced a one-week lockdown, but on Thursday it allowed shops and malls to be open for eight hours daily amid protests by the businesses, reports Xinhua news agency.

Bangladesh reported 7,462 new confirmed coronavirus cases and 63 fatalities in the last 24 hours, bringing its total tally to 673,594 with 9,584 deaths. According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), 31,654 samples were tested for the coronavirus pandemic in the last 24 hours across Bangladesh.

The total number of recovered patients in the country stood at 568,541 including 3,511 new recoveries on Friday, said the DGHS. According to the official data, the Covid-19 fatality rate in Bangladesh is currently 1.42 per cent and recovery rate is 84.40 per cent. Bangladesh recorded the highest number of daily cases at 7,626 on Wednesday and the highest number of deaths at 74 on Thursday.