Bangladesh extends lockdown until May 23

Dhaka, May 16 :  The government has again extended the ongoing lockdown for another week until May 23 with two new directives alongside the existing ones to contain the spread of Covid-19.The Cabinet Division issued a circular in this regard on Sunday.
On May 5, the government extended the countrywide lockdown until May 16.
The circular said all the offices and agencies relating to revenue collection will be considered as emergency service providers.
Besides, restaurants and eateries will remain open with only takeaway/online services.
As coronavirus cases kept growing at an alarming rate since mid-March, the government had imposed a ‘loose’ nationwide lockdown for one week from April 5 as part of its move to contain its spread.
Later, a ‘stricter’ lockdown was announced from April 14 to 21. On April 28, the government again extended the lockdown until May 5 and issued six fresh directives as the country is struggling to contain the Covid-19 transmission.
On April 23, the Cabinet Division issued a notice allowing shops and shopping malls to operate from April 25 (10am-5pm) on a condition that they would maintain proper safety protocols.
Covid-19 claimed 22 more lives in Bangladesh in 24 hours until Saturday morning, which was the lowest daily deaths in the country in nearly two months.
Bangladesh saw 26 Covid deaths on Friday and 31 on Thursday.
With the deaths logged on Friday, the official Covid-related death count in the country reached 12,124.
However, the mortality rate remained unchanged at 1.55%, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Bangladesh witnessed a sharp drop in the number of new cases as the tests have declined dramatically.
Only 261 infections were logged in the 24-hour period after examining 3,758 samples.
The country also confirmed 779,796 Covid-19 cases in total, said a DGHS handout.