Bangladesh prepares for lockdown
Rail-water-air transport closed, road transport to stop from Thursday
The government has ordered a suspension of all modes of transport as part of its efforts to enforce social distancing effectively in order to slow the spread of coronavirus.
Trains and river vessels were shut down from last evening while buses across the country will stop plying from tomorrow.
Flights on all domestic routes were suspended from midnight Tuesday.
The new measures came a day after the government asked all public and private offices to remain closed for 10 days from tomorrow and engaged the army to help the local administration enforce social distancing and review quarantine and treatment of corona patients and suspects.
The Supreme Court and all courts of the country will also stay closed until April 4 from tomorrow.
The closure of educational institutions has been extended until April 9.
All shops, excepting those selling medicines, foods and grocery and kitchen items, have been asked to shutter from tomorrow.
Meanwhile, the country recorded the fourth death from coronavirus on Tuesday. With six new cases detected, the number of confirmed Covid-19 patients reached 39, raising panic over the silent spread of the virus amid limited scope for tests and quarantine.
The government has gone for a raft of measures, with transport shutdown being the last, which, if effectively enforced, look set to put the country into a lockdown from tomorrow.
In a televised address to the nation tomorrow, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is expected to outline some more measures by her government to intensify the fight against the pandemic virus and support for low income people hard hit by the shutdown.
Members of the Armed Forces reached the divisional and district towns today and held meetings with the local administration. They will start work in full swing from tomorrow, aiding the local administration to enforce social distancing and review the quarantine of returnees from abroad and treatment of corona patients.
The army will make a list of all infected with the coronavirus and ensure that people returning from overseas are in quarantine.
As per government directive, the army will maintain necessary coordination with the local administration in controlling the coronavirus in all districts.
The Bangladesh Navy will also work to assist the civil administration in coastal areas. The Air Force will be in charge of hospitals' medical equipment and emergency transport, said an ISPR release.
Police have urged expatriates who have entered the country from March 1, to inform the authorities about their permanent addresses if they are different from those mentioned in their passports.
Sohel Rana, AIG, police headquarters confirmed the matter, saying, "Legal action will be taken against anybody who does not follow this directive under the Infectious Diseases (Prevention, Control and Elimination) Act, 2018. Also, their passports will be rescinded if necessary."
The railway has suspended passenger trains across the country from the evening today for an indefinite period.
A total of 364 trains operate in the country. Of them, only container and goods trains will run.
"From this evening, no passenger train will depart from any railway station in the country," Railway Minister Nurul Islam Sujan said today.
The government has also shut down all road transport from tomorrow (March 26) to April 4.
Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader issued the instruction in a video conference today.
A Road Transport and Highway Division statement said trucks, covered vans, vehicles of medicine, fuel, emergency services and perishable goods will operate as usual.
Bangladesh Road Transport Owners Association general secretary Khandakar Enayatullah told The Business Standard that the association has asked all transport owners to stop bus services from Thursday morning.
The city services in Dhaka will also remain closed, he added.
"According to the government instruction, no buses will run from Thursday morning in the city as well as across the country," said Enayatullah.
Mokbul Ahmed, president of Bangladesh Covered-Van and Truck Owners Association, said their services will continue.
The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) has suspended operations of water vessels across the country from today afternoon amid fears of the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Speaking to The Business Standard, BIWTA Chairman Golam Sadeque on Tuesday said, "All 11 river ports will be closed from 12pm tomorrow to until further notice."
Nizam Uddin, owner of Adventure launch service, said, "We appreciate the initiative taken by the government to shut the waterways for the safety of our country."
He said that around 8 thousand passengers had come to Sadarghat launch terminal on Tuesday to go to different destinations.
"It will be good if these eight thousand passengers are allowed to go to their destinations," said Nizam Uddin.
BIWTA Joint Director Alamgir Kabir said that as most of the footpath shops and tea stalls in Dhaka are shut down, the owners and employees of these outlets are heading for their hometowns and villages, causing a rush in the terminals.
Cargo vessels will run on a limited scale, officials said.
Around 220 passenger vessel ply on 43 routes from Dhaka River Port.
Senior Secretary of the Civil Aviation and Tourism Ministry Md Mohibul Haque told The Business Standard that domestic air connections will remain suspended from Tuesday midnight till further notice to control transmission of corona virus.
State-run Biman Bangladesh Airlines and private airlines Novoair and US-Bangla operate on domestic routes. Biman has already suspended most of its flights on domestic routes last week due to passenger crisis.
US-Bangla and Novoair continued their regular domestic flights amid the corona outbreak.