National committee for closure of book fair amid surge in Covid cases

The national technical advisory committee on COVID-19 has recommended immediate closure of book fair, social programmes, hubs of entertainment and all forms of fair to control the fast growing coronavirus outbreak.

Mohammod Shahidullah, chairman of the committee, announced the recommendations in a statement after a meeting on Thursday, reports bdnews24.com.

Besides shutting down the fairs, the authorities should take steps to ensure that the newly issued set of 18 instructions to control the outbreak are rigorously followed, the committee said.

The instructions include maintaining physical distancing on public transports, wearing masks, and limiting assembly. 

The committee advised the government to consult the Islamic Foundation on instructions about religious programmes.

It thinks that specific directives are needed to prepare for and implement the 18 instructions.

The hospitals need to increase seats in COVID units and ICUs. The medical colleges outside Dhaka need to increase their capacity so that they can treat the patients in their areas.

The panel said the government should prepare for more coronavirus tests as the number of patients is going up.

It asked the government to continue post-vaccination surveillance, and prioritise genetic sequencing of the coronavirus to understand the outbreak.