Staff Correspondent: Dhaka, Jul-22,

Upping its guard against the devastating Delta variant of Covid-19, the Bangladesh government on Thursday announced the resumption of the countrywide strict lockdown from July 23.

The restrictions are to come into force at 8 am on July 23 and will continue till August 5 at midnight, unless extended again.

State Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain, however, told UNB that this lockdown will be stricter than the one imposed last time. Police, the para-military Bangladesh Border Guard, and the Army will keep a strict vigil on the roads.

"Offices, courts, garment factories and all other export-oriented industries, everything to be precise, will remain closed. Strict restrictions will remain as before," he said.

Despite industry bodies BGMEA and FBCCI urging the government to keep garment and related industries out of the purview of the Covid lockdown, the Minister said that no decision was taken this month. "We will take a call as per the situation," he added.

Asked if there were any plans to ease the lockdown for those who went home for Eid, he said, "No, those who went back to their home districts can't return to the city before August 5. We had made it clear earlier too."

On July 13, the government decided to ease the lockdown restrictions in the country for eight days due to Eid-ul-Azha. The lockdown restrictions were lifted a day later.