Citizens urged to avoid religious gatherings

Health Minister Zahid Maleque has urged the countrymen to avoid all kinds of religious gatherings to prevent any possible spread of the novel coronavirus.

"We have also asked the Ministry of Religious Affairs to discourage arrangements of religious sermons for Muslims, Kriton for Hindus and other religious functions," he said.

The health minister made the recommendation to the citizens on Sunday during a briefing after an inter-ministerial meeting at the Secretariat office in the capital.

Minister Maleque also discouraged Bangladeshi expatriates, who are returning to the country, from going to mosques.

Many religious authorities in several countries have already advised their people to pray on holy days without risking the spread of coronavirus. Meanwhile, many Muslim countries, organisations and Islamic sites have imposed new measures for worshippers and pilgrims.

Zahid Maleque requested the people under self-quarantine to follow the government's directives against coronavirus spread.

At the same time, the health minister suggested the Ministry of Road Transport and Bridges to take steps to have all vehicles, including public transports, in the country cleaned so that the coronavirus does not spread.

"Please do not use public buses if you are suffering from cold diseases. Save yourself and save the countrymen," he requested.

When asked about closing of educational institutions, Maleque said they did not ask the education ministry to close the institutions right now. "It is up to the education ministry as they will decide whether institutions will be closed."

"However, we have recommended the education ministry to keep adequate hand sanitisers at the educational institutions so that students can wash their hands frequently," he added.

On March 8, Bangladesh reported its first three cases of coronavirus. After a week, all of them recovered completely. But again, two new coronavirus patients were found in the country on Saturday, with one coming back from Italy and the other from Germany.

The death toll from coronavirus or Covid-19, believed to have originated late last year in China, reached 5,833 globally as of Sunday. Besides, 156,396 cases were reported from around the world.