In a bid to revive the country’s economy the government is going to reopen offices and transport services from May 31 despite the fear of continued coronavirus onslaughts.
The Ministry of Public Administration on Thursday issued a gazette notification allowing limited operation of public transport and offices from May 31 to June 15 amid the coronavirus outbreak.
According to the notification, the government will form a strong task force to boost the economy by tackling the pandemic crisis. The experience of how Australia, Italy, France, India, China, and the United States are easing the lockdown and returning to economic activity will also be followed.
Following the government’s announcement for a general holiday from March 25 due to the coronavirus outbreak, the overall economic activities of the country have come to a standstill. The number of unemployed and poor people is increasing. On the other hand, all types of development activities are at risk of being disrupted.
In this reality, the lockdown will be relaxed and the economic activities will be brought back to normalcy by lifting it gradually. Normal activities are going to start in the country at all levels from next Sunday.
However, despite the ongoing lockdown some people have been doing their duties regularly. Doctors, nurses, and all those involved in the treatment, Army, police, other law enforcement agencies, bankers, journalists, government high officials, and people involved in the pharmaceutical industry have continuously been working to serve humanity.
Considering these aspects, besides saving lives, the government is also thinking about the issue of livelihood. And for this reason, the lockdown is being relaxed.
Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi said recently, “All kinds of commercial activities are being conducted in compliance with the hygiene rules. And because of the smooth supply chain in the market, the prices of goods have not increased. Maintaining hygiene rules, garment factory continuing their production, the port authorities are also working round the clock to ensure timely shipment”.
He further said that a strong task force will be formed to deal with the loss of Corona and overcome it quickly.
South Asian Network on Economic Modeling executive director Dr Selim Raihann told Bangladesh Post, “The impact of coronavirus in our economy is visible, and we are seeing a major financial crisis in the country which is also having a major impact on trade. There is a risk of negative growth in the import trade in the coming months. This is a very negative aspect of our private sector investment as a whole”.
“There is no quick fix. As the virus outbreak slows down the economic growth this year, there is a big risk that it will slow down the growth next year as well. This will also be associated with a slowdown in the growth of private sector investment. The only way is to ensure the highest use of the government stimulus package. Only this can lead us towards success”.
“If the government can put into practice the policies and initiatives that have taken to tackle the coronavirus and revive, we will find a way out of this crisis”, he added.