In Bangladesh, government has extended the restrictions on public activities and movement across the country till 3rd of August after the earlier restrictions ended yesterday. In a notification issued by the Cabinet Division, it was announced that the restrictions have been extended to contain the spread of Coronavirus in the country.

The restrictions make the wearing of masks necessary while moving out of home. Keeping social distancing and following the health guidelines issued by the government has been made mandatory.

Public transport, passenger vessels, trains and airplanes could operate their services on a limited scale with limited numbers of passengers in approved regions under the health guidelines issued by the government. Vehicles involved in transportation of commodities through road or waterways will be allowed to operate while observing the health instructions.

According to the notification, no one will be allowed to go outside home between 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. without urgent need such as purchasing essentials and performing rituals for the dead.

The government has ordered that markets, shops and shopping malls must be closed before 7 p.m. They must also have the facility of hand-washing and disinfecting the vehicles at the entry into the shopping malls.

The educational institutions will also remain closed but they can continue with their administrative work. Online courses and distance learning activities will be allowed during this period.

Mass gatherings including rallies and meetings will be restricted. However, people can offer prayers at mosques maintaining the health guidelines issued by the government.

Depending upon the severity of the infections, zoning systems of dividing locations into Red, Yellow and Green Zones will be implemented by the local administration to control the spread of the Coronavirus.

Recently, World Bank has approved dollar 1.05 billion for three projects in Bangladesh to create quality jobs and accelerate economic recovery in the wake of the Corona pandemic. The Press release issued by the World Bank quoted the Country Director for Bhutan and Bangladesh, Mercy Tembon that these projects will help the economy is bouncing back by creating more and better jobs and promoting direct private investment in specialized economic zones.

The first project worth a dollar 500 million called Private Investment and Digital Entrepreneurship (PRIDE) project will strengthen social and environmental standards in selected economic zones and software technology parks in Bangladesh. It will create over 1.5 lakh jobs of which a percentage will be reserved for women. The project will also establish Dhaka’s first digital entrepreneurship hub in the Janata Software Technology Park. It will help Bangladesh to attract $2 billion of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

The 295 million dollars, Enhancing Digital Government and Economy (EDGE) Project will establish an integrated, cloud-computing digital platform for all government agencies and improve cyber-security. It will enable the government to operate virtually and deliver critical public services to citizens and businesses in times of future crisis. This is likely to create 1 lakh jobs, train 1 lakh youth in digital technologies and establish a digital leadership academy. The project will also help the small and medium enterprises and strategic industries to prepare for the fourth industrial revolution.

The 250 million dollars, Second Programmatic Jobs Development Policy Credit will create fiscal space to support the government’s response to the COVID-19 crisis.

The World Bank said that this is the second of the programme based series of three projects for Bangladesh intended to modernize the trade and investment regime, build a stronger system of expanded safety nets and labor protections and help vulnerable populations access better jobs, especially during crises.