Government extends general holiday till May 5
Dhaka: In order to contain the outbreak of coronavirus, for the fifth time the nationwide shutdown has been extended till May 5 including the general holidays and weekly holidays. However, 18 important ministries and divisions including the Prime Minister's Office will remain open during this time.
According to reliable sources, some important ministries, including the Prime Minister's Office, will be kept open to keep the government functioning properly. Overall, it was decided to open 18 ministries and divisions. The Ministry of Public Administration will publish the notification of the holiday on Thursday(April 23).
Confirming the decision to keep the ministries open, State Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain told Barta24.com that the holiday has been extended till May 5 due to the corona virus. As a result, the office will open on May 6. However, some ministries will remain open during this holiday for urgent needs. However, some ministries including health, disaster and relief are still open. There are also various levels of emergency offices open.
According to the sources, the Prime Minister's Office, Cabinet Division, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Public Administration, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Women and Children Affairs, Ministry of Social Welfare, Ministry of Information, two divisions of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Food and Disaster Management, Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock will remain open during the shutdown period. The normal activities of these ministries will continue. As a result, the officers and employees have to attend the office.
In the first phase the general holiday period from March 26 to April 4 due to coronavirus. After that the shutdown extended to 11 April. The holiday was extended for the third time till April 14. In the fourth phase, the leave was extended till April 25.
On April 10 (Friday) the Deputy Secretary (Rule-4) of the Ministry of Public Administration Kazi Mohammad Saiful Islam signed a circular extending the fourth leave till April 25. The circular gave some instructions to ensure social distance in dealing with corona.
One of the instructions was that none can go out after 6 pm evening all over the country. If it is violated legal action will be taken against the violators. Noting that this holiday will not be considered as a general holiday, the notification said that they should be strictly adhered to with certain conditions.