After a week of rest for Eid al-Adha, it was closed again to stop the wave of virus infection and death.

After allowing the week-long recess for Muslims to celebrate Eid al-Adha, Bangladesh will shut down the coronavirus for two weeks to curb the wave of infections and deaths caused by the virus.

Police officer Ainar Hussein said at a temporary checkpoint in the capital Dhaka on Friday: “No one is allowed to go outdoors unless there is an emergency.” Members of law enforcement agencies, including soldiers in the army, returned to the streets to prevent people from moving. .

According to the government notice, the current restriction period will last until August 5.

Last week, the South Asian country eased restrictions imposed on July 1 in response to the surge in coronavirus cases, allowing tens of thousands of people to leave major cities and return to their hometowns to celebrate Muslim holidays.

However, many of them returned on crowded buses and ferries, and public health experts worried about the consequences, as Bangladesh reported an average of nearly 11,000 infections and more than 200 deaths every day last week.

Iqbal Arsalan, a member of the government advisory group responsible for responding to the coronavirus outbreak, said: “If the infection rate rises due to the unscrupulous movement of people, it will be difficult to deal with this situation with limited medical facilities.”

National Public Administration Minister Fahad Hussein told reporters that the government has no choice but to take drastic measures to slow the spread of the virus.

He said that during the festival there was a lot of people flowing and urged those who returned to their hometowns not to return to the city during the shutdown.

The government notice urged people to stay indoors and ordered offices, shopping centers, transportation services and factories to close until August 5. Food processing plants and other emergency services are not included, it added.

Since the emergence of the virus in March last year, Bangladesh has so far reported nearly 1.13 million cases and 18,325 deaths.