In the week before the enforcement of the strict lockdown on April 14, Chattogram’s rate of infection was hovering around 12 percent to 20 percent. But in the days since then, the rate has jumped up.

In order to treat critically ill Covid-19 patients, five ICU beds are being installed at Bangladesh Institute of Tropical and Infectious Diseases (BITID) in Chattogram.

The diarrhoea situation in Barishal division has become “severe”, with cases spreading to 18 out of 40 upazilas in six districts. On top of that, intravenous (IV) fluids like saline have suddenly gone out of stock in many places across the division.

Attorney General AM Amin Uddin yesterday told the High Court that he does not know whether there is any oxygen crisis in the hospitals of the country.

Despite the government extending the current week-long “lockdown” for another seven days, most of the main roads and intersections in the capital yesterday witnessed increasing number of people and vehicles.

For the first time, a total of nine Bangladeshis have made the “Forbes 30 under 30 Asia 2021” list.

“This is the only work we know. When our incomes are cut off from this, we don’t have anywhere else to go,” said Shamsuddin, a loading worker at Barishal River Port.

Police Bureau of Investigation on Sunday identified the body of a woman, found in a drum in Rajshahi four days ago, and arrested four persons in connection with the death.

Doctors at Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital (SBMCH) have called for ensuring manpower and necessary support to sustain health services at the facility, especially for Covid-19 treatment.

Ever since the start of the lockdown, the low-earning population of Mymensingh city have been going through a rough time. Out of work on one hand, their misery is only compounded by the onset of Ramadan, which brought with it a sudden rise in kitchen market prices.

Seven people were killed and six others injured in road accidents in three districts during the last two days, according to reports from our correspondents.

A special parcel train is operating on the Panchagarh-Dhaka route to facilitate transportation of goods produced by farmers during the ongoing lockdown.

Bangladesh Garment Sramik Sanghati central committee has called upon the owners and the government to take special care of the RMG workers, who have been playing an important role in the country’s export earnings and the economy.

Traders in Chattogram should be allowed to open their shops in a limited scale amid the coronavirus pandemic so that they can survive, said their leaders yesterday.

Rafiqul Islam sells kebab from evening to late night every day at Rangpur city’s Company area. He used to make around Tk 400-500 per day, but since the April 14 “lockdown”, his income has come down to zero.

Mugging and extortion marked a sharp rise last year from 2019, although the country saw a fall in overall crime incidents during the same period.

Thirty percent of the wards in Dhaka city do not have any playground or park, which particularly harms the mental and physical growth of children as they have no space to play and interact with friends.

Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen yesterday said Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has taken Bangladesh to a new height of international diplomacy.

Detectives yesterday claimed to have arrested four members of a narcotics gang who were smuggling yaba pills from Cox’s Bazar to Dhaka in a truck under the guise of “emergency product” to store and sell those at a higher price amid the “lockdown”.

Chief Justice Syed Mahmud Hossain yesterday refused to increase the number of High Court benches for dealing with more cases, saying that safety of life is the first priority in this difficult period of coronavirus pandemic.