Business as usual in most red zones
No reflection of lockdown seen yet
In Chuadanga district, a refugee colony and a ward of Darshana municipality had been marked as red zones due to high Covid-19 infections.
General holidays were then declared for the inhabitants of these areas – from June 17 to July 8 – to contain the virus.
On June 15, some areas of eight upazilas of Jashore district were also marked as red zones and the health directorate asked the local administrations to enforce a strict restriction on movement there.
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However, there has been no reflection of that in those areas.
Residents of those areas are moving within the neighbourhood as they would before the declaration of general holidays.
Not only in Jashore and Chuadanga, but the same scene was observed in 18 districts where some areas of 42 upazilas had been marked as red zones, reports our correspondent.
The only visible initiative in the red zones has so far been that the houses of the infected people have been locked down.
Apart from that, there has been no significant measures to control the movement of the people to curb the virus spread.
Residents of these areas are mixing freely as there is no enforcement of restrictions. People are going outside and gathering at roadside tea stalls for gossiping.
When asked about the modality of enforcing lockdowns in the red zones to control the spike of the virus, Additional Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Professor Dr Nasima Sultana said: "The local administrations are enforcing the red zoning, they know it better."
Darshana municipality Mayor Motiar Rahman said, "We tried our best to make people understand but most of them are not following any instructions."
DSCC yet to receive instruction on Wari
Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) has not received any instruction from the DGHS regarding the enforcement of lockdown in one of its areas – Wari.
There has been much discussion since the last week of May to bring the area under lockdown as a pilot programme.
Meanwhile, East Rajabazar has been in lockdown since June 9 under the pilot programme.
DSCC Public Relations Officer Md Abu Naser said, "We have taken all required preparation to enforce lockdown in capital's Wari.
"However, we have not yet received any signal from the ministry."
