The government on Sunday extended the ongoing restrictions on public movement and activities by another week from May 16 midnight to May 23 midnight to check the spread of Covid-19 amid the rush of holidaymakers back to cities, including the capital, after celebrating the Eid festival.

The Cabinet Division issued a circular to the effect a day after the three-day public holiday on the occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr ending on Saturday as more people were leaving Dhaka city for village homes ignoring risks of coronavirus infections and government restrictions on movement as well.

People continued to leave the capital city on Sunday even two days after the festival while many were returning from village homes by road and river transports despite a ban on public transports, including inter-district buses, launches and trains.

Crowds of holidaymakers travelling by cars and small vehicles were seen on both sides of ferry terminals on rivers, including the Padma in Munshiganj and Manikganj.

The Directorate General of Health Services spokesperson, Nazmul Islam, on Sunday at a virtual press conference requested people who have gone home on the occasion of the Eid festival to delay their return to Dhaka.

‘Unless it is essential, please delay your return to Dhaka for a week to two weeks,’ he said.

Health experts have already expressed fear that there would be further rise in Covid cases due to the massive movement of holidaymakers during Eid.

All government and non-government offices excepting those providing emergency services would remain closed during the restriction period, according to a government order issued earlier.

All offices/agencies involved in government revenue collections have been included in the emergency services by the latest circular.

Restaurants would be allowed to sell food as takeaway or online during the time, said the circular.

The restrictions had been extended later in phases and, lastly on May 5 till May 16, relaxing flight operations and allowing intra-district movement of buses while the ban on inter-district buses, trains and launches had remained in force.

Till Sunday 8:00am, the country’s Covid death toll reached 12,149 and the number of cases 7,80,159, according to the DGHS.

Prior to Eid there were massive rushes of people out of the capital city and adjacent urban areas while on Wednesday five people died and 12 others fell sick on two ferries on the Shimulia–Banglabazar ferry route in the River Padma.

Since Sunday morning thousands of people have been coming back to Dhaka from the south-western districts to join their work defying health regulations — not wearing masks properly and not maintaining social distancing —by transports like CNG-run auto-rickshaws, cars, microbuses, motorcycles and even on ambulances and trucks paying exorbitant fares.

The New Age Munshiganj correspondent reported that since Sunday morning huge number people and vehicles had been seen on the both ends of the Shimulia–Banglabazar ferry route.

Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation Shimulia ferry terminal deputy general manager (commercial) Shafiqul Islam said that they were operating 15 ferries on the route while each ferry was carrying huge numbers of passengers and vehicles.

Shimulia ferry terminal traffic inspector Hilal Uddin said that more than 200 small and large vehicles — mostly goods-laden trucks — were stranded in the terminal area in the morning.

As the day went by, the number of Dhaka-bound passengers at Paturia coming from Daulatdia increased while they paid four to five times higher fare to the cars, microbuses, motorcycles and auto-rickshaws they travelled in.

The BIWTC deputy general manager (ferry services) at Aricha said that the pressure of passengers to and from Dhaka in the morning was low on the Aricha–Kazirhat and Paturia– Daulatdia routes.

‘As the distance between Shimulia and Dhaka is not that long, people prefer this route over the Paturia–Daulatdia route,’ he added.

According to the New Age correspondent in Barishal, thousands of people left the Barishal Nathullabad bus terminal in the morning for Mawa ghat by intra-district buses and minibuses, three-wheeler vehicles, cars and even by trucks and ambulances by paying unusually high fare as the launch services remained closed.

Passengers alleged that while the regular bus fare from Barishal to Mawa ferry terminal was between Tk 220 and Tk 250 they were charged from Tk 500 to Tk 600 on the day.

Hasina Banu, a garment worker who went to his father-in-law’s house at Bakerganj to celebrate Eid, said that on her return journey ve