Lockdown to be extended or not after 'review': Cabinet secy

The government will take a decision on Thursday as to whether the lockdown which commenced countrywide from today, Monday, to control the spread of coronavirus, will be extended any further, the cabinet secretary has said.

Cabinet secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam said this to newsmen after the cabinet meeting on Monday.

He said the decision will be taken after reviewing the situation. “Let’s see how the situation will be,” Khandker added.

The lockdown has begun from Monday, following a spike in the number of Covid cases in the second wave of the deadly disease in the country.

People’s work and movement are being restricted. Offices are being opened on a limited scale, though the first day of the lockdown has been lax.

Quoting the prime minister’s statement made at the virtual meeting of the cabinet, Khandker Anwarul Islam said that the second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine will commence from 8 April.

He said that he had spoken to the director general of the Directorate General Health Services (DGHS) and there would be no problem in administering the second dose.

The country's top bureaucrat said while providing the second dose, the next batch of vaccines would arrive.

When asked about the Boi Mela (book fair) remaining open during the lockdown, Khandker Anwarul Islam said, “The cultural affairs ministry had been given that responsibility. They can be asked about the matter.”

The cabinet had also discussed the prices of essentials during the month of Ramadan.

The cabinet secretary said that the commerce ministry had said that the price of oil had gone up in the international market. The National Board of Revenue (NBR) was looking into ensuring that the price of oil decreases at the consumer level.