DHAKA: Bangladesh authorities said on Monday they will gradually open up more factories, as well as farms and logistics operations, as they try to diminish the economic impact of a coronavirus lockdown which they extended to May 16.
Shopping malls were given permission to reopen with shorter than usual hours. The move followed a decision last week to reopen more than 2,000 garment factories that supply global brands, after a month-long shutdown. Much of the rest of the economy remains offline. The official tally of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus rose by 688 to surpass 10,000, the health ministry said. Some experts are concerned that the real number of cases could be higher in a country of more than 160 million people.–Agencies
