As part of the government’s initiative to control coronavirus outbreak, the country on Thursday remained almost locked down amid suspension of all kinds of transport movement and closure of government, non-government and private offices and establishments. City roads and even all the localities were also seen free from the movements of transports and public as well.
According to witnesses, members of the police and Armed Forces started their fieldwork in capital Dhaka and elsewhere in the country to help the civil administration ensure that people maintain social distancing and coronavirus suspects remain in quarantine to prevent the spread of the deadly virus.
Rashedul Alam Khan, assistant director at the Inter Services Public Relation (ISPR) Directorate, said members of the Bangladesh Army started their work in the morning as per the government’s decision. Another ISPR Assistant Director Rezaul Karim Shammi said Bangladesh Navy personnel began their activities in 19 coastal upazilas under five districts.
Besides, members of Bangladesh Air Force remain standby to respond to any emergency situation to airlift necessary medical supplies and emergency transport, he said. On Monday, the government decided to deploy members of Armed Forces -- Army, Navy and Air Force -– ‘in aid to civil power’ to tackle the coronavirus situation.
Following the government’s directives, army members were sent to all the districts on Tuesday as part of the deployment. They also held coordination meetings with the local administration. They are set to prepare lists of coronavirus-infected people and assist the civil administration to take effective steps to ensure that those returned from abroad remain in home-quarantine.
Army will also provide medical assistance at the division and district levels, if necessary. The Armed Forces members are wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) while on duty.
According to the ISPR Directorate, members of Bangladesh Navy were deployed in 19 upazilas of six coastal districts on Tuesday. The upazilas are Sadar, Borhanuddin, Doulatkhan, Charfasson, Monpura, Lalmohon and Tajumuddin in Bhola district, Sandwip in Chattogram district, Hatiya and Sobarnachar in Noakhali, Teknaf, Kutubdia and Maheshkhali in Cox’s Bazar, Mongla in Bagerhat and Sadar and Amtali, Betagi, Bamna, Patharghata and Taltali upazilas of Barguna district.
However, different scenarios were sighted at the terminals of ferry services at Aricha and Maowa where thousands of people bound to their home in the countries north-western zones remained stranded. They thronged there despite the suspension of transports and prohibition on the movement due to spread of coronavirus germs.
It should be mentioned that in a desperate attempt to prevent the spread of coronavirus in the country, the government has gone for communications shutdown, suspending bus, train, launch and air services. As all the modes of communications remain suspended, no passenger turned up to railway stations, launch terminal and inter-district bus terminals in the capital on Wednesday, giving them a deserted look.
In a latest development, Bangladesh has suspended flights to all countries except the UK and China until April 15 following the global outbreak of coronavirus. The flight operation with Bangkok will remain suspended from 12am on Thursday and while with Hong Kong from March 29, said Air Vice Marshal M Mafidur Rahman, Chairman of Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh.
Earlier on March 21, international commercial passenger flights with 10 counties -- Malaysia, Oman, Singapore, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Turkey, India, and Bahrain –-- were suspended. On March 15, Bangladesh suspended on-arrival visas for all countries for two weeks. Besides, passengers will not be allowed to enter Bangladesh from any European country except England until March 31. On March 19, Biman Bangladesh Airlines cancelled all of its flights to Dubai and Abu Dhabi.