Mask up: PM reiterates

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today reiterated her warning that the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic in the country is imminent and asked all to mask up.

"I request you all to wear masks and follow other safety rules," she said, mentioning the rising Covid-19 cases across the world.

The prime minister said this while addressing a meeting of secretaries of the ruling Awami League. The meeting was held at the central office of AL on Bangabandhu Avenue but the prime minister joined it virtually from her official residence Gono Bhaban.

Talking about the coronavirus vaccine, she said research works are going on in various parts of the world. "Bangladesh will get the vaccine once it is ready as the government is paying in advance," she said.

Turning to graft, Sheikh Hasina said money and wealth earned through corruption will not help as "Covid-19 has taught us this lesson. The pandemic is a lesson for those too who used to go abroad for better treatment."

Hasina said many countries in the world are struggling to face the situation caused by the coronavirus pandemic and even GDP growth rates of many developed countries have seen a negative trend.

"But our government took quick, farsighted and planned measures to keep the wheels of the country's economy moving after detection of the first coronavirus cases in Bangladesh," she said.

The prime minister said the government had announced various stimulus packages in the beginning of the outbreak in the country to keep the economy running.

Besides, she said, necessary manpower, including 2,000 physicians and a remarkable number of nurses and technologists were also recruited to face the situation. "As a result, the rate of deaths due to Covid-19 in Bangladesh was less than those of many countries," she said.