Lockdown in Chapainawabganj extended for 7 more days
The Chapainawabganj district administration has extended the ongoing lockdown for seven more days. On 31 May, Chapainawabganj deputy commissioner Md Monjurul Hafiz decreed the fresh lockdown extension after a meeting held at his office.
The DC said the previous 11-point instruction forbade entry of people from outside the district. But the latest instruction relaxes the rule for the mango traders. “With necessary credentials, traders from outside Chapainawabganj now can enter the district to procure mangoes,” he said.
Earlier at 10:30am on the day, the district civil surgeon Zahid Nazrul Chowdhury informed Prothom Alo that the overall Covid-19 situation in the district did not improve.
Although the district saw a gross rate of coronavirus infection at 34 per cent seven days ago, it was actually 71 per cent according to the RT-PCR test reports, he said.
The civil surgeon added that 45 patients were detected coronavirus positive among 63 who underwent RT-PCR testing in 24 hours till 30 May night.
On the other hand, four patients among 10 in gene expert tests and 44 among 203 in rapid antigen tests were found coronavirus positive. Overall, a total of 93 among 276 were detected coronavirus positive.
The Chapainawabganj police remained alert, particularly at the entry to the district, to enforce the lockdown strictly.
Due to administrative measures, people seldom step out of home in the morning. On the contrary, people in the rural areas seldom pay heed to the Covid-19 restrictions, particularly at afternoon and night.
This correspondent found people busy with their daily chores, shopping for vegetables, fruits and fodder at the Chandlai Jorbagan market place in the Chapainawabganj municipality area. Only a few of people were wearing masks. Many of them were found chatting idly in crowded places.
On the evening of 30 May this correspondent while going from Shibganj to Sadar upazila, saw huge crowds at Israil intersection, Chhatrajitpur and Ranihati Bazar along the Sonamasjid highway. Very few were following the health guidelines.
In Chapainawabganj district, the coronavirus infection rate has been climbing since the Eid-ul-Fitr holidays ended. The infection rate was 59 per cent one week before the government had imposed the lockdown.
According to sources, most of the Covid-19 patients admitted to the Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital arrived from the border-lying Shibganj upazila. Illegal trespassing along the border-lying localities has increased the infection risk of the India variant coronavirus. In this backdrop, the Chapainawabganj district administration imposed a seven-day lockdown and issued 11-point instructions on 24 May.