The government of Bangladesh has decided to conditionally relax the ongoing COVID restrictions for a week between July 15-22.
However, strict restrictions will be reimposed from July 23. The official press release said that the notification in this regard will be issued on Tuesday.
The decision comes ahead of the festival of Eid-ul-Azha which will be celebrated on July 21. Every year, millions of people leave Dhaka for their home towns and villages during the festival of Eid-ul-Azha.
Easing of restrictions for a week is likely to reduce the big rush of people leaving Dhaka within a very short window of time due to restrictions on public transport.
Bangladesh has imposed strict lockdown since July 1 for two weeks up to July 14. Under the provisions of the COVID restrictions, public transport is closed. All offices are also closed. Shops and malls are closed.
Educational institutions have been closed since March last year. Only essential services, kitchen markets and emergency services are operational in the country.
However, factories and industries are open subject to the observance of the health guidelines issued by the government.
Meanwhile, the COVID 19 situation continued to remain grim in the country. It recorded the second consecutive day of highest level of infection on Monday with 13,768 cases being reported from the country.
The number of active cases in the country is now more than 1.36 lakh. 220 COVID deaths were also reported on Monday taking the death toll to 16,639. The sample positivity rate in the country was reported at 31.24 percent.
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