Amid the Covid-19 outbreak across the country, all the offices and transport services are going to reopen today in a limited scale on 15 terms and conditions.
The government issued an order in this regard on May 28 by easing the ongoing nationwide shutdown imposed on March 26.
However, no educational institution will open before June 15 next.
As part of the measures to tackle the Covid-19 situation, the authorities have issued a 15-point directive restricting all public activities from May 31 to June 15 when the offices and services would run cautiously.
However, due to the number of people infected by coronavirus is increasing everyday and deaths are also increasing gradually, experts and different bodies have expressed their deep concern over the withdrawal of the lockdown like reopening of the offices and resumption of transport services.
They said the infection by the virus may continue to increase and number of deaths could further rise due to the easing of the lockdown situation.
It should be mentioned that a total of 188 countries are so far affected by the Covid-19 with a total of 59, 24, 275 infected people. Of them, so far 3,64,867 people have been reported killed.
In Bangladesh, 44, 608 people have so far been infected and deaths of 610 people reported so far.
According to an order issued by the Cabinet Division, all government, semi-government, autonomous and private offices will remain open on a limited scale under their own management (from May 31).
However, the order exempted ‘vulnerable people, sick employees and pregnant women’ from attending offices and directed that all meetings would be held through virtual media debarring physical presence of people in such conferences unless the situation demanded so in extraordinary cases.
The government also allowed “restricted reopening” of public transport services like passenger buses, trains and ferries with “limited number of passengers” who must wear protective masks during their movements at all times while operators were asked to strictly follow the health directives related to Covid-19.
The private aviation operators, however, were allowed to restore flight services under their own management maintaining the health guidelines.
As part of the conditions, shops would remain open from 8:00am to 4:00pm strictly maintaining social and physical distance and other health guidelines.
But public movement from one district to another will be controlled strictly and monitored through security check posts at the entrance and exit points of the each of the country’s 64 districts.
The government order also said that despite the eased shutdown, the existing ban on public gatherings and their movement without urgent necessity from 8:00pm to 6:00am would remain enforced while violation of the order would be treated as a punishable offence.
The order issued a 15-point directive simultaneously to regulate public activities in view of the pandemic.
Those 15 instructions of the government are:
1. The restriction will remain effective from May 31 to June 15 which will include weekends on June 5, 6, 12 and 13.
2. The public movement from one district to another will be controlled strictly during the ongoing restriction. Check posts will be set up at the entrance and exit points of each district.
The district administrations will cautiously enforce the restrictions with the help of law enforcement agencies. During the enforcement of the ban on movement to prevent COVID-19, people must stay indoors.
In no way they will come out of their home from 8pm to 6am unless emergency needs (like necessary buying or selling, traveling to workplaces, buying medicines, medical services, funeral activities, etc). But in all the cases of movement outside at all times one must wear masks alongside following other health rules. Otherwise one will face legal actions for violation of this order.
3. During the period of restrictions the members of the public and all authorities must strictly follow the directives issued by the Health Services Division.
4. Everybody will have to strictly abide by the health directives, including maintenance of physical distancing from one another in bazaars, hats, shops and shopping malls. The shopping malls must keep arrangements of materials including sanitizers for hand washing.
They must as well keep arrangements for disinfecting all vehicles coming to the shopping malls. The hats, bazaars and shopping malls must be shut down by 4pm.
5. Agencies engaged in law enforcement, ensuring state security and carrying out intelligence activities, emergency services like relief distribution, health services, electricity, water, gas and other energy related services, fire service, ports (land ports, river ports and sea ports), telephone and internet services, postal services and offices related to essential goods and services will remain beyond the purview of the restrictions along with their employees and vehicles.
6. Movement of all kinds of vehicle (trucks, lorries and cargo vessels) engaged in transporting commodities through highways and river routes will continue.
7. The restriction will not be applicable for agriculture products, fertilisers, pesticides, foods, industrial products, goods of state operated projects, kitchen markets, pharmacies, hospitals and emergency services and the people related to the services.
8. Doctors, nurses and health service providers engaged in medical care, vehicles and people engaged in transporting medical equipment, including medicines, and people engaged in mass media (print and electronic) and cable TV networks will remain out of the purview of the restriction.
9. All factory authorities, including medicine industry, agriculture and production and export-oriented industries, could keep open their factories ensuring safety and healthcare facilities for the workers. They will have to ensure the application of health regulations for factories announced by the Directorate of Health Services.
10. No educational institution would be allowed to remain open during the restriction. However, online courses or distance learning courses will continue.
11. Bangladesh Bank will issue necessary instructions on full-fledged reopening of banking services.
12. All government/semi-government/ autonomous and private offices will remain open on a limited scale under their own management. But vulnerable people, sick employees and pregnant women will refrain from attending offices.
Officials and staff must strictly abide by the 13-point directives issued by the Health Services Division during discharge of their duties at offices. All meetings would be held through virtual media debarring physical presence of people in such conferences unless the situation demand so in extraordinary cases.
13. None would be allowed to leave his/her station of work during the restriction. Public transport, passenger vessels and trains could resume services on a limited scale with a limited number of passengers, ensuring the health rules. But maintenance of health guideline, including use of protective masks, announced by the Directorate of Health Services must be ensured at all times. Concerned ministries or divisions will issue necessary directives in this regard.
14. Aviation authorities could restore their flight operation services under their own management maintaining the health guidelines.
15. Holding of rallies, meetings, mass gathering and any functions will remain suspended during the restriction while the people could offer their prayers at mosques and other places of worship maintaining the health guidelines.
