The government is likely to announce a nationwide lockdown for a week with effect from Monday to fight the second wave of COVID-19.

‘In this situation the government of Sheikh Hasina has made a decision to impose a countrywide lockdown from Monday for one week,’ ruling Awami League general secretary Obaidul Quader said on Saturday.

The public administration ministry will elaborate it, he said.

Obaidul, also the road transport and bridges minister, made the discloser on Saturday in a video message a day after the country recorded highest number of the coronavirus cases.

He said that industries might remain open on conditions during the lockdown.

State minister for public administration Farhad Hossain told New Age that all offices except the ones providing emergency services would remain under the purview of the lockdown which would be announce in a day or two.

He said that industries would remain open and employees would have to work in shifts following health guidelines.

Farhad held a meeting with senior officials concerned at the Cabinet Division in the evening.

But no gazette notification has been issued till 9:30pm, said officials.

Passenger trains and launches and domestic flights will remain suspended for a week after the official announcement of the lockdown.

The government move came after the Directorate General of Health Services in a meeting with experts on March 16 suggested that the government should impose a complete lockdown throughout the country to rein in the coronavirus situation as both COVID-19 infections and deaths are spiking again.

After the government announcement of the lockdown, people Saturday afternoon started leaving the capital by buses, launches and trains.

The pressure of outgoing people would increase today, transport operators said.

Bangladesh Railway officials said that the movement of all passenger trains would be suspended for one week from tomorrow.

The Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority in the evening announced that the operation of passenger water vessels would be suspended from 6:00am tomorrow due to the lockdown.

The domestic flights will remain suspended during the lockdown, decided the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh.

Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport director Group Captain AHM Touhid-ul Ahsan said that they would enforce the suspension from tomorrow.

COVID-19 killed 58 more  people while 5,683 tested positive for the disease across the country in the past 24 hours till 8:00am on Saturday.

With the new figures, the country has tallied 9,213 COVID-19 deaths and 6,30,277 cases, said the Directorate General of Health Services.

The daily cases of COVID-19 hit record 6,830 on Friday.

Earlier, the government on March 29 issued 18-point directives restricting public gatherings, including social, political and religious programmes.

Following the directives, the railway on March 30 started selling 50 per cent tickets for all passenger trains, bus operators on March 31 started carrying 50 per cent of passengers against the capacity with a 60 per cent increase in fare and launch operators on April 1 began carrying 50 per cent of passengers against the capacity with a 60 per cent increase in fare.

On Saturday, road transport operators at Gabtoli, Mohakhali and Saidabad inter-district bus terminals said that after Obaidul’s announcement of the lockdown in the morning, most of the tickets for northern and southern districts for Saturday and today were sold out.

Mosharref Hossain, general manager of Hanif Paribahan at Gabtoli bus terminal, Saturday night told New Age that all the tickets of their buses for Saturday and today were sold out.

The situation was same for almost all the bus companies at the terminal, he said, adding that many people left the terminal without getting any tickets.

Bangladesh Road Transport Owners’ Association executive president Abul Kalam, also president of Mohakhali Bus Terminal Owners’ Association, said that the pressure of outbound passengers from Dhaka increased slightly on Saturday and would increase further today.

‘We will take passengers maintaining social distancing in busses and as a result, it will create a crisis of seats,’ he said, adding that they have not got any instruction from the government till Saturday night to close bus services from tomorrow.

But if everything remains closed, buses would obviously not run during the lockdown, he added.

Bangladesh Railway additional director general Sardar Shahdat Ali told New Age that from Saturday evening, the number of passengers on trains on different routes had increased.

‘It is natural that people will