There are general observations that the health safety guidelines set by the government to prevent transmission of deadly coronavirus are being widely ignored in public places, offices, factories and markets.
Such observation comes from wide allegations of health safety rules not being properly enforced by the authorities concerned.
In such circumstance experts believe that the situation may turn worse with greater number of corona infections like it happened in Italy, UK, France and USA where infection rates at one stage dramatically soared.
Meanwhile, police and district administration officialssaid that they were finding it difficult to enforce the guidelines due other responsibilities which take away most of their duty hours after the withdrawal of the general holiday on May 31.
Nasima Sultana, additional director general of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), said that she preferred raising awareness among people instead fining them as stipulated in the Communicable Diseases (Prevention, Control and Eradication) Act 2018.
“The poor will not be able to pay big amounts of fine,” she said.
But a DGHS public announcement, signed by Nasima on May 30, the day before withdrawing the holiday, said that not using masks and not complying with other health safety guidelines would be treated as a punishable offence under the Act’s Section 24.
The announcement asked the district administrations to enforce the law having the provision for maximum six-month jail or Tk 1,00,000 fine or both for violations.
After the withdrawal of the general holiday, the Cabinet Division also issued three circulars setting guidelines on the public movement.
In its latest circular issued on June 30, effective till August 3, the division asked people to wear a face mask, maintain physical distance and abide by other health safety guidelines while out in public places.
The circular asked everyone not to go out of home from 10:00pm to 5:00am other than in emergencies like returning home from work stations, buying medicine or for healthcare services, burial or funeral activities.
It also asked everybody to strictly maintain social distancing and the health safety guidelines at marketplaces and use sanitizer while entering into the shopping malls.
The markets, shops and shopping malls must be shut by 7:00pm, instructed the circular, asking all concerned to follow the DGHS guidelines at the government, autonomous and private offices and while travelling by public transports.
While the DGHS confirmed that COVID-19 cases crossed 2,00,000 and the number of deaths is now over 2,500, public gatherings were generally noticed in front of offices and banks, at bus stops and kitchen markets in busy areas like Kakrail, Gulistan and Motijheel.
A vegetable retailer at Karwanbazar said that he feels uncomfortable using masks and gloves all day long. He said he is not aware of the fine for not using face masks in public places.
Some travelers said that the guidelines were ignored by both passengers and owners of intercity buses, and ferry operators.
Bangladesh Medical Association general secretary Md Ehteshamul Huq Choudhury said that everybody would follow the guidelines if the police arrested and fined people.
SwadhinataChikitsak Parishad president Professor Iqbal Arsalan predicted that the situation might deteriorate rapidly in July for allowing cattle markets to operate ahead of the Eid-ul-Azhafestival and people to return to village homes.
The Cabinet Division’s June 30 circular approved holding of the cattle markets in compliance with the social distancing rules. Based on this many city corporations have already sought quotations from bidders for operating makeshift cattle markets in open spaces.
ShwasthyaAndolan co-convenor Farida Akhter believes it is a mockery.
“The government attitude indicates that it has no concern even if one crore people die eventually,” she said.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police deputy commissioner Mohammad Walid Hossain asked what could the police do when people were not concerned.
‘We are still trying to enforce the guidelines by operating mobile courts,’ he said, claiming that Tk 62,95,660 was realised as fines from 1,267 individuals, 449 vehicles and 1,425 shops since March.
Dhaka’s additional district magistrate VaskarDevnathBappy said that every day they were operating 11 mobile courts and until now they punished people with fines of up to Tk 1,000 for health rule violation.
Both BRTA director AKM Masuduar Rahman and BIWTA director Rafiqul Islam claimed that they were strictly enforcing the health safety guidelines in the public transports.
