Tuhin Shubhra Adhikary

With the need to ensure uninterrupted oxygen supply at public hospitals having become increasingly critical in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, there appears to be a glimmer of hope as the authorities concerned are moving towards installing oxygen tanks in more hospitals.

The government is going to place the budget for the fiscal year 2020-21 tomorrow at a time when the world grapples with the Covid-19 pandemic. The outbreak has also exposed the weakness in the country’s healthcare system as people felt they did not get the service they expected. The health budget, thus, this time around will draw a lot of attention.

The government yesterday extended the relaxation of the requirement to obtain driving licences to operate heavy vehicles by one more year to June 2021, following the demand of transport leaders.

The country’s first metro rail project, Mass Rapid Transit-6, may miss its completion deadline in December next year if the construction suffers any further delays.

The third metro rail project of the country is being prepared for its physical work to begin from 2023, as the authority is set to sign a contract with a consortium of agencies, both foreign and Bangladeshi, today for general consultancy services.

Road Transport and Bridges Ministry today asked Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) to cancel registration and route permits if vehicles violate health guidelines.

Facing setbacks in its plan to enforce containment zones in four districts from yesterday, the government is now working to impose a total lockdown in areas that will be marked red and partially in the ones marked yellow in a day or two.

In the wake of rising Covid-19 deaths and infections across the country, the government today starts enforcing containment zones on a pilot basis in some areas of four districts, including Dhaka.

Ride-sharing services are unlikely to resume anytime soon as the Bangladesh Road Transport Authority (BRTA) has taken a hard line on the vehicles that had been providing the popular service without having been enlisted with the BRTA.

Most of the mega development projects were already behind schedule before the pandemic. Then came several months of shutdown, deteriorating the situation to a great extent.

As a reporter, I have written dozens of stories on various aspects of the Covid-19 pandemic even before the deadly virus started to spread in Bangladesh. But today, I am writing the story about how my wife and I contracted the virus, fought against it and won.

Ensuring uninterrupted oxygen supplies at hospitals appears to have emerged as the latest choke point in the battle against the coronavirus outbreak, which is bearing down on the country.

While all other road transport services including buses and minibuses are about to resume operations from today, people planning on availing ridesharing services in the capital and other major cities will have to contend with bad news.

When all road transport services including buses and minibuses are about to resume operations from tomorrow, people planning on availing ride-sharing services in the capital and other major cities will have to contend with bad news.

The government is going to significantly raise bus fares, making travelling costlier for people already struggling with unemployment and reduced income amid the coronavirus outbreak.

With buses set to hit the roads from Monday, transport owners have started asking for permission to double the fares, because the vehicles would carry fewer passengers to prevent coronavirus transmission.

When the government directed all the public and private hospitals with more than 50 beds to take measures for treating Covid-19 patients, some health experts said the initiative can spread transmission further.

While the country sees the numbers of Covid-19 patients and deaths surge sharply, the government yesterday announced the end of the temporary shutdown.

Thousands of people continued to leave Dhaka yesterday as the government apparently relaxed travel restrictions ahead of the Eid.

Thousands of people left Dhaka for the second straight day yesterday to celebrate Eid in their village homes, violating travel restrictions imposed to curb the spread of Covid-19.