The government has extended the ongoing general holidays up to May 30 with a view to containing the spread of novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country.
A gazette notification, signed by Cabinet Division Deputy Secretary Abdul Wadud Chowdhury, was issued in this regard on Thursday.
To contain the COVID-19 infections, the government, with some conditions, has decided to further extend the general holidays after May 16, said the notification.
The general holidays will be from May 17 to 28 which will include or add the holy Shab-E-Qadr holiday on May 21, weekly holidays on May 22, 23, 29 and 30 along with Eid-ul Fitr holidays on May 24, 25 and 26, according to the notification.
But the emergency services like electricity, water, fire service, cleaning services, telephone and internet services will be excluded from the announcement.
Even the agriculture commodities, fertiliser, pesticides, fuel, mass media, food industrial commodities, medical accessories, emergency and essential commodity transportation, kitchen market, food, medicine shops and hospitals have been kept out from the purview of the holiday, it said.
If there is any emergency, the offices can be kept open and the drug industries, the productive and export oriented industries also can be kept open.
Movement of all modes of transport like truck, lorries, cargo vessel engaged in commodity transport will remain open on the water and land routes in the country.
The, gazette notification, however, said that no educational institutions will be kept open during the holidays, but the Bangladesh Bank will give instructions to keep the banks open for providing limited banking services during the holiday.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the government so far has extended holidays for seven times since March 26.