The ongoing restrictions imposed to curb the transmission of coronavirus will be lifted from February 22.
Cabinet Secretary Khandaker Anwarul Islam informed the matter to the media at a press briefing after the cabinet meeting at the Secretariat on Sunday.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina joined the meeting virtually from her official residence in Ganabhaban and ministers from the Cabinet Division of the Secretariat also joined the meeting via video conference.
After the meeting, the Cabinet Secretary said, “Clear instructions have been given. Schools and colleges (including university) will be opened from February 22 and primary schools will be opened from March 1. No restrictions will be imposed from Tuesday. However, everyone must be careful about wearing a face mask. Everybody has to wear a mask when going to any event or public places.”
Khandaker Anwarul Islam said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina mentioned giving the responsibilities regarding the issue of Covid-19 to everyone at the Ekushey Padak award-giving ceremony.
“No one should feel relaxed considering the downward trend of corona infection. The Prime Minister has given special instructions in today's (Sunday) cabinet meeting. People of all levels have to follow the health safety guidelines. A programme has been undertaken to provide one crore doses of vaccine across the country on February 26. It has been asked to publicize the matter. Many countries in the world are not able to provide vaccines but we have enough vaccines. Everyone has been specially requested to cooperate in this regard,” he said.
He further said that the health minister had said that if someone who does not have a NID, goes to the vaccination center with an address on a small slip, they can add their address to the list after getting vaccinated.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that a new wave of coronavirus is likely to emerge and they think that it might be more impactful than Omicron, he added.
The Cabinet Secretary said, “The Ministry of Health has been considering how to vaccinate children under the age of 12 years quickly. They want to use the experience and analysis of all the countries that have given vaccines to children. Children of class six are having difficulty in this regard as many of them have not turned 12 but they are already in class six.”
On January 10, the government imposed restrictions across the country due to the increasing number of cases of coronavirus including Omicron, which was made effective from January 13. An 11-point restriction was issued in this regard.
As the coronavirus situation continued to deteriorate, the Cabinet Division declared the closure of educational institutions from January 21 to February 6. The government also gave direction to run public and private offices with half capacity during this period.
The restrictions were extended till February 21as the situation did not improve. The coronavirus infection situation is improving at present. The infection rate is decreasing every day. Therefore, the government has decided not to extend the restrictions.
