The Prime Minister’s announcement of four new stimulus packages of TK 67,750 crore, along with the previous TK 5,000 crore package, is a bold and reassuring step for the entire country, which is in a state of extreme uncertainty.

We, and indeed the rest of the world, are going through unprecedented times pulverised by the onslaught of Covid-19.

The reports and visuals of thousands of garment workers coming back to Dhaka from their villages all over the country, cramming into ferries, pickups, trucks or walking on foot, are extremely concerning as such an influx and crowding of people are the perfect recipe for a rapid spread of the coronavirus.

With educational institutions closed for the foreseeable future to curb the spread of coronavirus, children are increasingly becoming restless in their homes, cut off from the outside world, their friends, physical activities and instructions from teachers.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has issued a set of very comprehensive directives. But, as we know, with all directives, there are three phases to it—its issuance, its speedy, efficient and systemic implementation and finally, its strict monitoring.

We are outraged at the news of a journalist being assaulted for reporting irregularities in relief distribution in Nabiganj upazila of Habiganj last Wednesday.

While the PM’s Tk 5,000 crore stimulus package for export-oriented industries and government efforts to address the wage and food insecurity of people have been reassuring, especially with the entire country under partial lockdown, we are realising all too well that the present crisis and the measures taken to combat it will have far-reaching effects on practically every sector of the country.

The lead photograph published in The Daily Star on Thursday reveals a grim situation faced by many who are dependent on the public transport system for essential services such as medical treatment.

The storage space in Chattogram Port is quickly running out as reefer containers used to transport perishable goods have piled up because of limited delivery in the past few days amid the current countrywide lockdown enforced to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

Even though the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) says that there has been community transmission of the coronavirus on a limited scale, approximately only 1,606 individuals have been tested so far—and when that number is compared to the projected population of 164,283,529 in Bangladesh, such an evaluation by the IEDCR seems grossly inadequate, to say the least.

The decision of the authorities to extend the country-wide shutdown for another week is a commendable one, and we express our full support for this timely pronouncement.

It is surprising that the Rohingyas have so far been left out of the ambit of effective campaigns against coronavirus.

The New York governor has rightly said that ventilators are to the coronavirus fight what “missiles were to WWII”.

As we have said time and again in this column, echoing the directives of WHO and experts within the country and outside—we must speed up the testing process on an urgent basis, now that we are entering the fourth week since Bangladesh reported its first official Covid-19 case.

In these dark and depressing times, when we are bombarded with news of death, hardship and mismanagement of scarce resources, it is truly heartening to see that individuals and small organisations are stepping up and reaching out to those most in need of support.

The countrywide shutdown was a timely step by the administration. It was a necessary inconvenience to stem the spread of COVID-19 and ward off the likelihood of the kind of situation that was and is being faced in many countries.

We are outraged at the death of Shanu Hawlader, a 55-year-old farmer, in police custody in Barguna.

It is truly disappointing that, at a time when we need citizens of this country to be more selfless, compassionate and altruistic than ever, some unscrupulous businessmen and pharmacists are arbitrarily hiking prices of essential medications.

At a time when most of our government and private hospitals are struggling to get personal protective equipment (PPE) for their doctors, nurses and medical staff and sufficient resources for the infected Covid-19 patients,

Patients with fever are thronging hospitals and diagnostic centres on a daily basis, especially as fear has gripped the nation while more and more people continue to show symptoms of Covid-19.