Rising infections and crowded hospitals are being seen across Bangladesh, where a stringent lockdown starts Thursday. The government will deploy military soldiers, paramilitary border officers and riot police to enforce the lockdown, set initially for one week. Many border districts in northern and southwestern Bangladesh were spared from Covid-19 until now, so people lack antibodies against the virus. After the pandemic hit a devastating peak in April in India, Bangladesh shut the border. A complete lockdown may be the only answer to slow the variant, which poses the biggest risk yet.

Source: Mint July 01, 2021 00:00 UTC