Police officers have been ordered to restrict the flow of people in and out of Dhaka after a huge influx of workers into the capital on Saturday sparked fears of contagion amid a coronavirus outbreak.
Javed Patwary, the inspector general of police, directed law enforcers to implement the order from Saturday night, bdnews24.com reported.
Thousands of workers, mostly employed to the garment industry, crowded ferries to cross rivers or started their long journey on foot to reach Dhaka to save their jobs.
The images of desperate workers on the move shocked many as Bangladesh is enforcing a shutdown to maintain social distancing.
On Saturday night, garment exporters’ lobbying group BGMEA urged its members to keep their factories closed until April 11 in line with the government’s shutdown order.
Rubana Huq, president of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, was the subject of criticism on social media for going soft on errant factory owners who kept the plants open.
