General holidays extended further till May 30
Eid travelling will be strictly restricted
The government has extended ongoing general holidays up to May 30 to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus in the country.
During this period, the movement of public transports will be strictly controlled. Also, the government employees have been ordered to stay at their work stations.
Confirming the information, State Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain told The Business Standard that a gazette notification on it would be issued on Thursday.
He also said citizens have been asked to abide by all instructions and health rules provided by the Directorate General of Health Services and the Ministry of Health.
A source at the Ministry of Public Administration said citizens would to be ordered to spend the Eid-ul-Fitr days in the areas where they were residing currently.
The source also said the government would also put a strict restriction on travelling for seven days during Eid festival.
The restriction will begin four days before the Eid, and only private cars will be allowed on the roads during the period.
The ministry source also said detailed directions and some fresh orders will be added to the new gazette notification.
The government initially declared a 10-day general holidays from March 26 to April 4 to protect people against the highly contagious virus.
Later, it was extended till April 11 and further to April 14. Then again, it was prolonged to April 25 in the fourth phase, to May 5 in the fifth phase and finally from May 7 to May 16 in the sixth phase.
In the fifth phase, the government allowed factories to reopen with a limited number of workers after ensuring their health safety, accommodation, and transportation facilities. A large number of apparel factories reopened during that period.
With the detection of 1,162 new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours till Wednesday 8am, the total number of such cases in Bangladesh stood at 17,822, according to the Directorate General of Health Services.
Besides, 19 more people died from the deadly virus during the period, taking the death toll in the country to 269.
