The government has shut down 45 red zones across the country, flagged on the basis of infection and death rates, as part of a renewed push to contain the coronavirus epidemic.
But it is yet to finalise the extent and coverage of the lockdown plans for the metropolitan areas of Dhaka, the epicentre of the outbreak in Bangladesh.
A decision will be taken within the next "two to four days" and the lockdown measures will gradually be implemented in the high-risk areas of Dhaka, according to State Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain, reports bdnews24.com.
Speaking to bdnews24.com on Wednesday, Farhad said: "We will announce the red zones in Dhaka and declare general holidays there. To do that, we have to think about a lot of things.”
"This is because the capital is densely populated. There are many industrial units along with important offices in the city. We have to ensure the survival of these factories and offices. Work is in progress to determine how the curbs will be implemented in the red zones."
The state minister pointed out that there were a lot of factors that need to be considered before enforcing lockdowns in the red zones. Not all areas can come under lockdown at the same time, according to Farhad. Areas with a high prevalence of the disease will be shut down first.
"We have to keep the economy running -- that's a key consideration in our strategy. With that in mind, lockdown restrictions will be imposed in small areas so that normal life is not disrupted."
Bangladesh enforced a nationwide lockdown from Mar 26 to May 31 in a bid to curb the spread of the coronavirus infection. But as COVID-19 cases and deaths continued to surge, the government decided to divide all regions of the country into three colour-coded zones -- red, yellow and green -- before imposing area-wise lockdowns.
The government has imposed the curbs in a total of 45 areas in three phases so far.
