General holiday extended to 11 April

The government on Wednesday issued a notification extending the ongoing general holiday to 9 April to prevent spread of novel coronavirus in Bangladesh.

As 10 and 11 April are weekly holidays, this means the holiday is in fact extended to the 11th, said the notification issued by the public administration ministry.

Emergency services such as electricity, water, gas, fire service, telephone and internet will be out of the purview of the holiday, according to the notification.

Hospitals and pharmacies, kitchen market, food, industrial goods and daily commodities will remain open as usual.

Pharmaceutical and export oriented industries can remain open if necessary, said the notification.

Earlier on Tuesday, prime minister Sheikh Hasina said the general holiday can be extended to 9 April while exchanging views on the country’s coronavirus situation with the people’s representatives and field level government officials through a video conference from her official Ganabhaban residence.

The government declared all offices and schools shut from 26 March to 4 April in a bid to prevent the spread of coronavirus.