Armed Forces will be deployed in the country from Tuesday ‘in aid to civil power’ to take cautionary steps so that people maintain social distance and suspects maintain quarantine.
Members of the Bangladesh Army, Navy and Air Force will assist the civil administration at the division and district levels and in coastal areas, said Rashedul Alam Khan, assistant director of the Inter Services Public Relation (ISPR) Directorate.
Armed Forces members will assess the treatment arrangement for Covid-19 patients and quarantine of the suspects in coordination with district magistrates, he said.
Rashedul also said the Armed Forces members will look into whether any returnee is following or violating the mandatory quarantine.
District magistrates will urge local Army Commanders to assess the situation as per the law, he added.
Meanwhile, Navy members will assist the civil administration in coastal areas while Bangladesh Air Force will be deployed for distributing necessary medical equipment for hospitals and emergency communication.
Earlier in the day, Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam informed reporters that members of the Bangladesh Army would remain in the field from Tuesday.
Meanwhile, the government on Monday declared general holidays from March 26 to April 4, aiming to prevent the transmission of deadly coronavirus.
However, kitchen markets, hospitals and pharmacies will remain open as usual, he said.
Bangladesh on Monday confirmed country’s third death from the coronavirus and reported six more new cases, including a health worker, taking the number of such cases in the country to 33.
Meanwhile, the number of globally confirmed coronavirus cases rose to 342,407 as of Monday. Of them, 228,604 are currently being treated with 10,566 in serious or critical condition.
So far, the virus has claimed 14,762 lives — a mortality rate of 13 percent, according to Worldometer.
The World Health Organization on March 11 declared the coronavirus crisis a pandemic.
Discussion about this post