As coronavirus continuing to make catastrophic effect on all fields, a large number of people is maintaining health guidelines to protect themselves from the second wave of COVID-19 pandemic. However, several others still defy the health guidelines.
Roaming around the capital on Monday it was seen that common people were wearing face masks and using hand gloves.
Health experts said that there is no alternative to following the health guidelines to curb the risk of spreading of coronavirus. People are now aware of coronavirus pandemic and many people are following the health rules as suggested by the government and doctors, they added.
Subrata Das, a private bank employee at New Market, Dhaka, said, “It’s a matter of public health now. We can’t deny coronavirus anymore. I started wearing mask since the beginning of March.”
Street vegetable vendor Abdur Rashid echoed the similar worries regarding the upcoming corona second wave in the approaching winter.
“At first corona situation was horrible, now it seems moderate. But owing to this global pandemic I wear mask as my customers do not come to buy my product if I remain unmasked,” he added.
After the weekly Cabinet meeting on Sunday, Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam said, “Instructions have been given at all-levels, to all of our institutions -- social, organizational or formal-- that no mask, no service. Masks must be used in all institutions-- haats, markets, shopping malls, schools, and social and religious gatherings. We’ve made it compulsory.”
Responding to a question he said, "No one will be allowed to enter government offices as well as private offices without a mask. Coronavirus outbreaks are expected to increase in the winter, prompting massive instructions".
Divisional commissioners have been instructed to put up posters outside public and private offices saying “No one can get entry without a mask”. It will also be monitored regularly, the cabinet secretary said.
The cabinet meeting was held virtually with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the chair. The Prime Minister joined it through a videoconference from Ganabhaban, while other cabinet members got connected from the Bangladesh Secretariat.
Medicine specialist Dr Abul Kalam Azad at the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) told Bangladesh Post, “Wearing mask and adhering to health guidelines are a matter of collective consciousness. For one’s own safety and also for others, people who prefer to go out must wear face mask. The government has also addressed the issue by instructing everyone to wear mask.”
Furthermore, he mentioned that the main step in coronavirus prevention is to build personal awareness and boost the body's immune system as well as following the health instructions given by the appropriate authorities.
Bangladesh on Monday witnessed fifteen more deaths from COVID-19, increasing the death toll from the pandemic to 5,818 as well as 1,436 fresh cases overnight.
The recovery tally jumped to 3,16,600 after another 1,493 patients were discharged from the hospitals during the period, a press release of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) read.
