Some 272 Bangladeshi migrant workers returned home from Lebanon yesterday amid a ban on incoming passengers from the Middle East country due to a rapid surge in coronavirus infections.

Shop owners and employees of New Market, Bashundhara City Shopping Mall and Sadarghat areas in Dhaka took to the streets to protest the government’s decision to keep all shops and malls closed during the seven-day restriction to contain Covid-19 surge.

Faruque Hassan-led Sammilito Parishad won the biennial election to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association yesterday.

Compared to the previous week, deaths due to Covid-19 has increased by around 71 percent and transmission of novel coronavirus continued to surge.

The Election Commission yesterday postponed all elections, including the first phase of union parishad and sixth phase of municipality polls, due to a steep rise in coronavirus infections.

The first day of the ban on ride-sharing services via motorcycles stripped over one lakh bikers of means to a livelihood until further notice.

The country’s stock of Covid-19 vaccine today is getting an additional 12 lakh Oxford-AstraZeneca shots given by the Indian government as a gift.

The education ministry yesterday declared that in-person classes at secondary schools and colleges across the country would resume on May 23 after Eid-ul-Fitr.

Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque on Thursday visited the plant of country’s first life-saving vaccine producing institute INCEPTA Vaccines Ltd at Zirabo in Savar, said a press release.

The health directorate reported 1,865 fresh cases of novel coronavirus infection in 24 hours ending at 8:00am yesterday, the highest in last three months.

Muslims can receive Covid-19 vaccine shots during the fasting of Ramadan, said Islamic Foundation.

Bangladesh is seeing a continuous rise in the number of daily Covid-19 infection cases as it recorded 1,051 fresh ones in the last 24 hours till yesterday morning.

Sylhet-3 lawmaker Mahmud Us Samad Chowdhury died of coronavirus yesterday.

Some 343 people involved with Mass Rapid Transit Line-6, the first metro rail project in the country, have so far been infected with Covid-19. None of them died.

Bangladesh’s novel coronavirus caseload rose to 551,175 yesterday after the health authorities confirmed 845 new cases in 24 hours till the morning.

Eleven people have died from Covid-19 in the 24 hours till 8:00am yesterday and at least 606 new infections were recorded in that period.

Bangladesh recorded 10 more coronavirus-related deaths and 540 new cases in 24 hours till yesterday morning, showing a slight fall in daily infection rate.

A total of 635 new covid-19 cases were reported in the last 24 hours till 8:00am yesterday, indicating the rising trend of Covid-19 patients in the country.

The number of Covid-19 vaccine recipients continued rising for the second consecutive day as another 1,21,010 people were vaccinated all over the country yesterday.

By-elections to the Laxmipur-2 constituency will be held on April 11 as Kazi Papul’s position got vacated on the grounds of moral turpitude after his conviction in Kuwait for bribery.