Govt monitoring up as COVID-19 scare grows
STAFF REPORTER, Dhaka
In an effort to prevent further spread of the deadly coronavirus, the government has beefed up monitoring across the country to ensure people follow social distancing guidelines. The government has already initiated measures such as flight bans and mandatory lockdowns in some parts of the country, shutting down schools and colleges, closing offices, and maintaining social distance to prevent the pandemic from spreading.
The Army and the police adopted a tough stance yesterday to ensure people stayed home and maintained social distance.
The police have beefed up security measures at 64 checkpoints in the capital. They fined 87 people in the capital yesterday for disobeying
the governments health and hygiene guidelines.
Earlier, on March 24, the Army was
deployed to help the civil administration ensure social distancing and bolster the preventive measures against the coronavirus.
Two new coronavirus cases were detected in the country yesterday, taking the total number of infected people to 56.
Visits to different parts of the capital showed Army and police personnel trying their best to check the movement of people. However, a few city residents were out yesterday owing to the administrations efforts to enforce social distancing. Md Sohel Rana, AIG (media) of the police headquarters, said the law enforcers are applying all possible means to spread awareness. He also said that all police personnel have been deployed on the road to help implement the governments directives to curb the spread of the virus. We are approaching people with tolerance and respect to request them to stay home in order to contain the pandemic. We are checking whether people are coming out onto the streets without any emergency or collection of essentials , he added.
In a statement issued yesterday, the police headquarters asked people and social organisations to contact police personnel before providing food assistance to the poor and destitute amid the ongoing crisis. Additional superintendent of Bogura police station (Sadar circle), Sanatan Chakraborty, said: All our police personnel are trying to get people to follow the governments instructions on maintaining social distance in the district. Our district superintendent of police himself used the loudspeaker to spread awareness, he also said, adding that locals have been following the governments instructions and maintaining social distance.
Muhammad Towhidul Islam, superintendent of police (SP) in Rajshahi, said that comprehensive efforts are being made to ensure people follow health-related guidelines like staying at home, social distancing, and washing hands with soap.
