Country wakes up as lockdown ends

Business activities resumed in full swing across the country on Wednesday, the first day after the government withdrew its ‘strict’ lockdown despite a recent spike in Covid-19 cases.

Since Wednesday morning, Dhaka became lively as public transports along with private vehicles came out to transport office goers and goods amid a thin presence of police personnel on the streets.

Earlier on August 8, the government decided to reopen all shops, shopping malls and transports from Wednesday to revive the country’s economy from the negative impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. The government also allowed all private and government offices to reopen as well.

Since Wednesday morning, large number of people was seen entering the capital through buses, trains and launches. Different shopping malls and markets in the capital were also abuzz with huge crowds.

Despite the threat of mass spreading of the Covid-19 virus, most people at bus and launch terminals and

railway stations were seen not maintaining social distancing measures and health guidelines set by the government.

Many people were seen without face masks while visiting different shopping malls and markets, including Bashundhara City, New Market, Gausia, Noorjahan Mansion, Chandni Chawk, Chandrima Super Market, Mirpur New Super Market and SKS Tower at Mohakhali.

“The presence of customers was low in the morning, however, the crowd grew considerably in the evening,” Asharfuzzaman Khan, manager of Giordano, a fashion house at SKS Tower in Mohakhali.

Mohammad Shapon, sales representative of Body Line showroom at Mohakhali, said, “After a long time, we have been allowed to resume our business. We hope to recover from our loss if no further lockdowns are imposed by the government”

Talking to The Business Post, MA Hannan Azad, president of the Bashundhara Shopping Mall Shop Owners’ Association, said,” “For the first day, the crowd is not that bad but sales volumes are yet to reach the satisfactory level. Many people just came to the shopping mall to refresh themselves as they were stuck at home for the long time.”

“We are thankful to the government for allowing us to reopen. I hope in the coming days, we will be able to do better business if there is no further lockdown imposed by the authorities,” he said.

‘’We are strictly following health guidelines at Bashundhara Shopping Mall. No customer can enter our shopping mall without a face mask. Both shop owners and the sales persons are also following health rules during the business hours,” he added. A large number of day labourers were also seen crowding roads on Wednesday.

Earlier on Tuesday, Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) issued a notification to reinstate the previous bus fares as public transport has been allowed to operate in full capacity.

On July 30, the government allowed industry owners to reopen all export-oriented factories from August 1.