The government has decided not to do rapid testing for Covid-19 as the World Health Organization has yet to approve such a test, the health ministry has said.

More garment factories have reopened in the industrial areas across the country yesterday amid demonstrations by laid off workers and those demanding arrears.

Restaurants in the capital can sell takeaway iftar items from today, Dhaka Metropolitan Police said yesterday.

Bangladesh is coming up with the fewest social protection initiatives in the Asia Pacific region, finds a United Nations position report prepared by the organisation’s regional bureau.

Directorate General of Health Services has started working to scale up its coronavirus testing capacity with a target of testing over 5,000 people daily by the first week of next month.

Though the ongoing shutdown has put informal workers in the construction sector in a tight spot as they are largely dependent on daily wages, the ministry concerned has failed to act promptly to address their hardships.

Coronavirus cases in the country have passed the 5,000 mark, with health officials reporting 418 new cases yesterday.

A section of owners yesterday reopened their garment factories with a part of their workforce amid continued protests in different districts demanding arrears.

Shafiul Alam, a worker at a garment factory in coronavirus-hit Gazipur, returned to his village home in Pirojpur’s Bhandaria upazila on April 15.

Bangladesh appears to be the only country in the world where the Covid-19 death rate is higher than the recovery rate.

Ignoring the risks of contracting and spreading the coronavirus, hundreds of garment factory workers left their villages yesterday on foot or jammed into whatever vehicle they could get to join work in Dhaka and its outskirts.

The World Health Organization yesterday warned recovering from coronavirus may not protect people from reinfection as the death toll from the pandemic crossed 200,000.

In another step towards the extensive production of Covid-19 test kits in Bangladesh, Gonoshasthaya Kendra (GK) yesterday handed over samples of the kit devised by its scientists to Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University and the US Centre for Disease Control for validation checks.

On average, more than 30 doctors have tested positive for coronavirus daily in the last week, according to the records of Bangladesh Doctors Foundation (BDF).

While the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) claims that providing oxygen to patients will not be a problem, patients and doctors beg to differ.

The historic iftar market in capital’s Chawkbazar area remained almost empty on the first day of Ramadan amid shutdown for coronavirus.

On April 14, a doctor at the surgery department of Sir Salimullah Medical College Hospital sent The Daily Star a list of protective gear they were supplied that day.

The UN yesterday joined forces with world leaders and the private sector on an initiative to speed up development of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, and ensure equal access for all.

April in Dhaka is not what we know of. The month behaves almost like spring now.

Soaring prices of essentials in Ramadan have become a major burden at a time when hundreds of thousands of people are struggling with reduced income due to the coronavirus restrictions.