Bangladesh to ease lockdown restrictions for shops, malls from Sunday

April 25, Bangladesh: The Bangladeshi government has decided to reopen all shops and malls in the country from Sunday despite the ongoing lockdown which remains from April 22 to 28.

Bangladeshi authorities decided to let shops and malls open from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. local time while strictly maintaining health safety guidelines.

Bangladesh’s Cabinet Division said in a gazette notification Friday that the decision had been taken to reduce the livelihood-vulnerability of people.

Those caught flouting the safety guidelines will face dire action, it warned. During the countrywide strict lockdown that began on April 14, the government closed all shops and markets in efforts to fight the second wave of COVID-19 which is continuing to worsen with mounting deaths.

The COVID-19 resurgence since last month prompted the government to extend the strict lockdown to April 28. Bangladesh recorded 112 deaths from COVID-19 on April 19, its highest daily toll from the pandemic, the government said.

On Saturday the country’s Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) reported 2,697 new cases of COVID-19 and 83 new deaths, bringing the number of total cases to 742,400 and the total death toll to 10,952. (Xinhua)