On April 16, 396 Rohingya were rescued by Bangladesh Coast Guard after two months of drifting at sea. According to UNHCR, 32

A recent report published in this daily sheds light on the dire situation faced by a large population consisting of multiple ethnic minorities spread across the country, who remain at risk of being ignored from receiving aid, mainly food relief, during this pandemic.

With the highest number of deaths (15) in 24 hours on April 17, public health experts have warned that the country is heading towards the fourth stage of coronavirus transmission when the virus spreads quickly.

It is worrying to learn that the low number of Covid-19 positive cases in Bangladesh could be due to flaws in detecting suspected cases and collecting samples.

The government’s relief package of Tk 5,000 crore for the agriculture sector surprisingly does not cover crop and cereal producers such as Boro cultivators, even though Boro accounts for more than 50 percent of the country’s total rice production.

Although the government announced a special stimulus package for the country’s poor and extreme poor families recently, according to economists and researchers, it is hardly enough to feed people who are most vulnerable during the ongoing lockdown due to the Covid-19 outbreak in the country.

We are deeply saddened to hear of the death of an assistant professor of Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital, who succumbed to the coronavirus at the Kurmitola General Hospital in Dhaka on Tuesday.

With the support of an NGO—which has been tasked with the collection of samples, while the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) will carry out the tests at their own laboratories—44 walk-in kiosks, based on the South Korean design that has demonstrated impressive success, have been installed across the nation to enable a safe, quick and efficient approach for sample collection in order to conduct Covid-19 tests.

Our celebrations today will be uncharacteristically muted, without the huge congregation of people in colourful attire thronging to Ramna Batamul to listen to the songs that usher in the first day of Baishakh.

It is a sad reflection on the society that at a time of such unprecedented national crisis some of us continue to be slaves of our baser instincts. Otherwise how is it possible for a human being to misappropriate rice allocated by the government for the most indigent section of the population all over the country?

Although every year during this time farm labourer from different regions of the country go to the haor areas to harvest boro paddy, this year farmers are facing a labourer crisis to harvest their crops.

It is truly unfortunate, unfair and unethical that top fashion brands and retailers are cancelling orders or refusing to pay suppliers in their supply chain over the Covid-19 outbreak, pushing millions of workers around the world, who live from hand to mouth, into unemployment and poverty.

We commend the government for its plan to offer cash aid to the 34 lakh poor families who have been hard-hit by the ongoing shutdown due to the Covid-19 outbreak across the country.

We are appalled by the tragic death of a 43-year-old woman and mother of three, after her family’s desperate efforts to admit her at various hospitals went in vain.

It is a horrifying reality that with lockdowns being enforced all around the world incidents of domestic abuse, sometimes even leading to death of the victims have increased.

As the number of Covid-19 patients increases every day in the country, with 20 deaths and 218 confirmed cases reported by the IEDCR as of yesterday, the government just has no other option but to be well-prepared to cope with the situation that may arise in the coming days.

In a speech to public representatives and officials, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina gave strict guidelines to doctors regarding patient care, reminding them of their duty to provide healthcare, whatever the scenario.

While there is unanimity that community transmission is happening only in clusters, experts differ with the administration that there should be no cause for concern.

At least 25 people were injured during clashes between police and garment workers on April 6 in Mymensingh’s Bhaluka upazila after workers started demonstrating for their salaries for the month of March.

With a de facto lockdown in place across the country, the vulnerability of garment workers in Bangladesh has come to the fore like no other time before.