Authorities in Bangladesh have decided to lift all travel restrictions on public transport from Wednesday next week despite the daily Covid-19 case count remaining as high as 10,000 and hospitals still struggling to accommodate surging patients. On Sunday, the positivity rate was around 23 percent, too high to relax travel restrictions. 

In a circular released on Sunday, the government said buses, trains, launches can carry passengers at full capacity. But the transport owners will have to operate 50 percent of their total vehicles every day on all roads, in consultation with local administration (divisional commissioners and deputy commissioners) and law enforcers. 

For months, restrictions have been there to slow down the virus surge, mostly fueled by the spread of the Delta variant. In between, the government imposed several hard lockdowns, including closing the operations of major manufacturing units--the backbone of the country’s exports economy. 

Even though the cases remain high and crossed the earlier peak, the government has been under pressure to ease restrictions on economic activities. Prolonging restrictions doesn’t seem the option any longer. 

The pace of vaccination remains less than satisfactory, with only 2.7 percent of the total eligible population fully vaccinated. Around 6.3 percent have received at least a single dose. 

Recently released data of the last fiscal year showed the country’s GDP around 3.5 percent--the lowest in the three decades. The country’s Readymade Garment industry--accounts for almost half of the country’s total exports--is still recovering from the pandemic. The lockdowns hampered their operations, resulting in delays in the delivery of the orders from western countries. There was also the risk of cancelation of these orders due to the prolonged delays. 

Farhad Hussain, the state minister for public administration, said on Sunday that they will now move gradually lifting restrictions. Sheikh Hasina, Bangladesh’s prime minister, today held a meeting, taking stock of the Covid situation. 

Malls, shops, restaurants, and factories have been permitted to start their operations from 11 August. However, the guidelines and SOPs will be decided by the local administration in districts based on the Covid conditions. Focus, however, from now onwards will be on enforcing health guidelines like the usage of masks while easing more restrictions. 
 
(SAM)