Vaccination a must for school students

Students who are above 12 years of age will have to take at least the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine to attend in-person classes in schools as part of the government’s efforts to curb the recent rise in infections.

The decision was made at a virtual cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in the wake of the rising infections by the omicron variant across the globe, said Cabinet Secretary Anwarul Islam on Thursday.

After 100 days, Bangladesh crossed the 1,000-mark and logged 1,140 cases in the last 24 hours till Thursday morning. Previously, the country logged 1,310 cases on September 28 last year.

The positivity rate rose to 4.86 per cent on Thursday, up from Wednesday’s 4.20 per cent.

Everyone would have to wear masks outside, Anwarul said.

Although most of the students were yet to be inoculated, the directive was issued as vaccine doses were now easy to access even in rural areas, he further said.

Anwarul said students were getting inoculated by only showing their identity cards at any vaccine centre.

“We have to boost the vaccination programme and expand the booster dose campaign by reducing the latter’s 60-year age limit as the country has enough vaccine doses now,” he said.

Public transports would have to carry passengers at half the capacity without charging extra fares if the situation gets worse in the future, the cabinet secretary said. “We will inform Bangladesh Road Transport Authority of the matter.”

No discussion was held over imposing lockdown restrictions, he added.

Besides, a draft of the amended public-private partnership law was approved at the meeting while a $50 million agreement, signed in 1988 with Pakistan, to purchase two containers for Bangladesh Shipping Corporation was cancelled.