- Advertisement -
World

Bangladesh to vaccinate 10 million in 7 days

The nationwide lockdown in place since July 1 – except for a religious festival in mid-July – will be extended until Aug 10.

AFP
1 minute read
Share
People crowd a ferry terminal to leave the city ahead of the lockdown which began on July 1, at the Shimulia ferry terminal in Munshiganj, on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh, June 30. Photo: AP
People crowd a ferry terminal to leave the city ahead of the lockdown which began on July 1, at the Shimulia ferry terminal in Munshiganj, on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh, June 30. Photo: AP

Bangladesh extended its strict lockdown on Tuesday and announced plans to vaccinate at least 10 million people in a week as the country battles a major Covid-19 surge.

The vaccination drive from Aug 7 will be led by tens of thousands of health workers at 14,000 health centres, senior minister AKM Mozammel Haque said.

“More than 10 million people will be vaccinated in a week. Elderly people, workers and shopkeepers will be given the priority,” Haque said.

Health ministry spokesman Maidul Islam Prodhan said there was enough stock to inoculate 12 million people following the arrival of vaccines from China and the US under the Covax initiative.

The minister also said that the nationwide lockdown in place since July 1 – except for a religious festival in mid-July – would be extended until Aug 10.

Shops and public transport will resume from next week, but only vaccinated shopkeepers and transport workers would be allowed out of their homes to work, Haque said.

Bangladesh has so far reported some 1.3 million cases and some 21,160 deaths – figures experts said are a gross undercount.