People find 'easy excuses' to defy lockdown in Dhaka

People continue to venture out with families and friends in the capital defying the lockdown rules.

Dhaka, Jul 28 :  People continue to venture out with families and friends in the capital defying the lockdown rules even though Bangladesh recorded the highest daily rise in its Covid-19 death toll on Tuesday.

There was nothing unique on day six (Wednesday) of the ongoing strict lockdown as people were seen in the capital moving without emergency reasons with private cars and rickshaws plying everywhere.

Dhaka wore almost a normal look with an increased number of vehicles and people on the streets. Only the movement of public transport remained suspended as per the government restrictions.

With the spike in Covid cases, hospitals in cities and districts are getting overwhelmed with Covid patients but the lockdown restrictions are largely ignored.

Visiting different areas, the UNB correspondent saw the increased movement of people in different areas of the city including Kakrail, Malibagh, Shegunbagicha, Dhamondi, Mohammadpur, Shahbagh, Kataban and Farmgate.  

Even people were seen gossiping on roads and moving from one place to another without wearing masks.

Talking to UNB, traffic inspector of Mohakhali area Asaduzzamn said the pressure of vehicles increased today compared to the last few days.

“In some areas, traffic control is needed due to a rise in the number of vehicles,” he said.

When police stop vehicles at check-posts, passengers show various causes for coming out of home, including banking work, hospitalization of patients and vaccination, he said.

“We’re filing cases and realising fines from those who cannot show a valid reason for going outdoors but people are coming out despite all this,” he added.

Akhter Ahmed, a traffic sergeant of Uttara, said the number of vehicles is increasing every day.

As the country battles a brutal wave of pandemic, Bangladesh logged record-high 258 Coronavirus-related deaths in 24 hours till Tuesday morning, shattering the record of 247 single-day deaths a day before.  

The country has been seeing nearly 200 deaths every day for the past two weeks and breaking records of daily cases and deaths almost every other day.  

Besides, 14,925 more people came out Covid positive after the test of 52,478 samples, according to a handout issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).  

The country saw the highest-ever 15,192 Covid cases on Monday.  

With the new numbers, the death tally from Covid-19 reached 19,779 today while the caseload mounted to 1,194,752, reports UNB.