Some areas of the two city corporations in Dhaka, Chattogram, Narayanganj, Narshingdi and Gazipur district have been marked as ‘Red zones’ to contain the spread of coronavirus.

Seventeen areas under Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC), 28 areas under Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC), 11 areas in Chattogram, Sadar, Rupganj and Araihazar upazilas of Narayanganj, Narsingdi Model and Madhabdi thanas, Palash upazila in Narsingdi district and all upazilas of Gazipur district will be declared as Red zones.

The areas were identified at a meeting of the Central Technical Committee at the Directorate General of Health Services on Sunday.

Those areas are being considered as Red Zones in Dhaka and Chattogram city corporations where 60 cases in last 14 days or among100,000 population were detected, according to a source of DGHS.

Red zone areas in DNCC

Bashundhara, Badda, Cantonment, Mohakhali, Tejgaon, Rampura, Aftabnagar, Mohammadpur, Kallyanpur, Gulshan, Moghbazar, Airport, Banasree, Rayerbazar, Raja Bazar, Uttara, Mirpur.

Mirpur and Uttara are under consideration to be made granular for more effective zonal management.

Red zone areas under DSCC

Jatrabari, Demra, Gendaria, Dhanmondi, Jigatola, Lalbagh, Azimpur, Basabo, Shantinagar, Paltan, Kalabagan, Ramna, Sutrapur, Malibagh, Kotwali, Tikatuli Shahjahanpur, Motijheel, Wari, Khilgaon, Poribagh, Shahbagh, Eskaton, Kodomtoli, Siddheshwari, Laxmibazar, Elephant Road, Segunbagicha

Dhanmondi, Malibagh and Khilgaon are under consideration to be made granular for more effective zonal management.

Eleven areas in Chattogram are

Chittagong port, (Ward-38), Patenga (Ward-39), Chittagong Port (Ward-39), Pahartali (ward-10), Kotwali (ward 16), Khulshi (Ward 14) Kotwali (Ward 20), Kotwali (Ward-21), Halishohor (Ward-26), Chittagong Port (Ward -37) and Kotwali (Ward -22).

For the rest of the areas in the country especially for districts and upazilas, the parameter for red zones will be 10 cases in the last 14 days/100,000 population. Locally Civil Surgeon, DC and SP can decide the smallest areas according to their available data.

Narsingdi Model and Madhabdi thana, Palash upazila in Narsingdi district, Rupganj, Araihazar and Narayanganj Sadar and Narayanganj City Corporation areas, all upazilas in Gazipur district were marked as red zone areas.

Besides, the Central Technical group will develop a tool to help local administrators to take decision for identifying red zones in their areas.

As COVID-19 cases and fatalities continue to rise alarmingly in the country, the government decided to identify areas with high infection rates and categorise them as Red Zone.

All the preparations were made to bring virus hotspots ‘Red Zones’ under lockdown and declaring general holidays there to prevent entry to and exit from those areas.

“The areas where infection rate is high will be declared as ‘Red Zone’ and general holidays will be announced in those areas but countrywide general holidays will not be declared anymore,” State Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain told UNB on Saturday.

However, offices will remain open as usual maintaining health guidelines even after June 15.

Hossain also said that the decision was taken in this regard which will be finally approved by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

The health authorities on Sunday confirmed the detection of the 3,141 new coronavirus patients in the span of 24 hours, raising the total number to 87,520.

During this period, 32 people died of coronavirus, bringing the death toll to 1,171.

The government issued a gazette notification allowing limited operation of public transport and offices from May 31 to June 15 amid the coronavirus outbreak. But the coronavirus cases and deaths started to rise soon after reopening of offices and resumption of public transport movement.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday said keeping away people from getting infected with coronavirus and running wheels of economy simultaneously is a ‘war’.

“We have also taken steps so that economic activities could continue running, we have been able to place a budget, this is a kind of war,” she said.

The Prime Minister said this while speaking in Parliament taking part in the condolence motion on former minister and ruling Awami League presidium member Mohammad Nasim.

“We have decided to lockdown the particular places where the infection spread widely so that this spreading could not infect new places,” she said.