The government has asked factories to keep their operations running except Eid holidays.
The department of labour under labour and employment ministry on July 22 made the instructions through issuing a circular in this connection.
"The number of coronavirus infections has mounted in recent times," reads the circular.
The operation of industrial units could be run except the government-announced holidays and workers' stay in their working areas must be ensured, it added.
Bangladesh Employers Federation, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA) have also been notified.
Earlier on July 20, the government at the 65th Tripartite Consultative Committee meeting said workers' Eid holidays would be three days in line with the public Eid holidays.
It also asked workers not to leave their present dwelling places during Eid holidays following health safety instructions to help curb COVID-19 transmission.
According to Industrial Police (IP), 466 workers from 198 factories in six zones under its jurisdiction except Dhaka metropolitan have so far caught coronavirus and 435 recovered until Wednesday.
Besides, six workers, including four garment operatives, died until Wednesday, police sources said.
Out of 198 factories, 31 are non-garment and 58 under Bangladesh Export Processing Zones Authority with 45 and 80 infected workers respectively.
The rest belong to textile and ready-made garment sectors, according to IP sources.
Some 234 corona-infected workers are from 74 garment factories registered with BGMEA, 104 from 32 BKMEA units and four from three member units of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association.
When asked, BGMEA PR committee chairman Khan Monirul Alam said factories have been advised to follow the government guideline on three-day holiday and adjust their own holidays accordingly.
About COVID-19, some 494 workers of BGMEA member units were infected until Tuesday. Of them, 415 have already recovered and the rest are under treatment.
