Lockdown gets tighter in East Rajabazar

Lockdown in the capital's East Rajabazar area turned stricter Friday, on the third day of its enforcement. 

People's movements into the locked down area were being tightly monitored as volunteers and law enforcement officials started to keep a log of people going out and coming into the area. 

Meanwhile, local ward councillors have kept distributing daily essentials and vegetables to the needy people of the locality. Every day, they distribute free foodstuffs to 20-30 people in the area. 

Some e-commerce organisations including Chal-dal are also there to make home delivery of food items and other essentials. 

However, some residents have alleged that prices of the products supplied by these organisations are higher when compared to other parts of the capital.  

Faridur Rahman Khan, councillor from ward no. 27 under the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC), however, denied the allegation.

"We are strictly monitoring the prices of the products here, in cooperation with the a2i team. Moreover, the products which are being sold in the locked-down area are fresher," said Faridur Rahman. 

He mentioned that four new cases were confirmed in the area on Thursday and that the number of the total Covid-19 positive patients in the neighbourhood now stands at 35. Meanwhile, one person died from the coronavirus in the area on Thursday. 

Some areas in four upazilas freshly locked down 

Meanwhile, partial lockdown was freshly enforced in four upazilas across the country on Thursday, after some areas of those upazilas had been marked as red zones due to high rates of infections. 

The newly locked down areas are in Gazipur, Dagonbhuiyan, Chagalnaiya, and Feni upazilas. 

The local administrations have taken several measures to curb further spread of the deadly virus in these areas. Police members have been patrolling the locked down areas and are making announcements through loudspeakers to raise public awareness about the virus. 

"Movements of people and vehicles are being strictly monitored in the Chagalnaiya," said Mesbah Uddin, officer-in-charge of Chagalnaiya police station. 

He said local vehicles could be the main carriers of the virus as they are the cheaper modes of transportation and are mostly used by low-income people in rural areas. 

He said they are urging people not to come out of home except there is any emergency. 

Dagonbhuiyan upazila administration has also taken enough measures to enforce the lockdown tightly. 

The upazila has around 100 Covid-19 patients and the number is on the rise. 

"We are trying to make people understand the severity of the plague," said Aslam Shikdar, officer-in-charge of Dagonbhuiyan police station. 

Meanwhile, Rupganj upazila of Narayanganj was brought under lockdown on the midnight on Wednesday.

Rupganj Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Mamtaz Begum said the lockdown has been declared as per instructions from nthe health department to prevent corona infection. 

Earlier on Wednesday, lockdown was withdrawn from three areas in Narayanganj, three days after their enforcement. 

Restrictions barely followed in Cox's Bazar 

Based on the coronavirus infection, 10 wards of Cox's Bazar municipality were labelled as 'red zone' or high-risk areas and were put under lockdown on June 5. 

The district administration allowed people to go to markets to buy daily essentials twice a week. 

It seems the decision has turned lethal as people barely follow social distancing guidelines at marketplaces. 

The markets are flooded with people every Thursdays and Sundays.

Local health experts are afraid that the markets could turn into hotspots of the virus spread.

They urged the administration to take more effective initiatives to enforce the lockdown strictly.