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To reduce the spread of the coronavirus, the government of Bangladesh has issued a directive that no service will be provided to anyone without wearing a mask. Public health experts have said there will be no change just by giving instructions.
Cabinet Secretary Khandaker Anwarul Islam told a press conference on Sunday that according to the government directive, anyone from public and private offices would be evicted if they removed their mask.
Although the issue of wearing a mask outside the home has been at the forefront of government guidelines, recently there has been a relaxation in people following this rule.
Although the number of coronavirus cases and deaths in Bangladesh has been relatively low in recent weeks, health experts fear a ‘second wave’ will occur in the coming winter.
For this reason, the Minister of State for Public Administrations, Farhad Hossain, said that the directive was given as a precaution.
A virtual cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday ordered that governmental and non-governmental organizations would not provide services without wearing a mask.
Among them, the wearing of masks has become compulsory in government and private offices, hat-bazaars, shopping centers, educational institutions, social and religious conferences.
But questions have been raised about how these guidelines will be monitored.
In this regard, Hossain said, the departmental commissioners, as well as all government and private offices, have been informed of this instruction. They have been asked to post posters outside the office.
গেলে If you want to get on any public transport, you have to wear a mask, if you want to take any service from various government offices such as: DC office, UNO, AC Land or bank, they have to wear a mask.
If all government offices follow this rule, private offices will also be encouraged, said Mr. Hossain. In the first months of the epidemic, the general population followed the emergency hygiene rules, but then they also relaxed.
The first coronavirus patient in Bangladesh was identified in March this year. After a few months, the general public became cautious about adhering to emergency hygiene rules, but later, there was a kind of relaxation among them when wearing masks.
Subsequently, the administration ordered that he not leave the house without urgent need. Even if it goes out, you must wear a mask. Otherwise, the fine will be counted. Although the activities of law enforcement agencies and mobile courts were watched for some time, it was later stopped.
At the time, members of the law enforcement agencies complained that most of the people were in a state of anarchy. Benazir Ahmed, a public health expert, said there was no benefit in issuing directives in these cases due to the lack of proper rules and oversight.
He said: ‘This directive will not bring any major change in the wearing of masks in Bangladesh. Because such notification was given before. There was no profit. To do this, public participation must be increased and, to increase public participation, the social movement must be formed involving representatives of the people, political leaders, local government and everyone. Instructions, brochures, signs and billboards alone cannot change people’s use. “
Ahmed pointed out the need for a change in behavior to make masks a habit. This “Communication for Behavior Change” works step by step, he said.
This means that people must be aware of the need to use these masks with the right knowledge, change their behavior gradually, and continue their efforts to make this change sustainable. Other than this, paper instructions alone will be of no use, he said.
Meanwhile, the Islamic Foundation has been asked to promote the issue of wearing a mandatory mask after the two daily prayers. The cabinet also said it would monitor whether the directive was being followed in the private sector and public transport.
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