New corona restrictions also hit political target

The government has ordered a new set of restrictions to contain the spread of coronavirus in the country with an 18-point guideline. It has been notified in a government gazette on Monday and is to be effective from today for two weeks initially. It has banned all public gatherings social, political or religious as the virus cases and deaths showed a rapid rise particularly in 29 districts with high rates of infection.
Air travelers from the UK and European countries are to go for quarantine for 14 days on arrival, passenger buses are to operate at half capacity to avoid crowd and kitchen markets to operate at open spaces. Schools will remain closed, but the authorities have ruled out the possibility of a general public holiday. We would say the government was too hasty in opening business and public gatherings like Ekushey book fair drawing huge crowds in the city to show that it has defeated the pandemic at a time when the second wave was underway. It could have been avoided.
Now keeping businesses open and curbing the spread of the pandemic may be quite difficult. We would ask the government to speed up its lacklustre nationwide vaccination programme. Its leaders must refrain from doing business with Covid-19 drugs. We would say restrictions have been rightly planned but many also doubt whether the government is tactfully seizing the occasion to ban political protest against killing of many people in police firing during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Dhaka. But the spread of Covid-19 cases in the country is running high and must be contained.
Infections were reported to be 5,181 on a single day on Monday when deaths totalled 45 — the highest-ever daily since the outbreak of the pandemic in March last year against drastic fall in recent weeks. The pandemic has killed at least 8,949 people and infected 600,895 so far across the country. We would say every life is precious and must be saved and ask people to strictly follow new restrictions, follow health guidelines and social distancing. There should not be any lapse which would allow further spread of the virus.