FMT:
Bangladesh clamps villages after tens of thousands attend cleric’s funeral
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Thousands of Bangladeshi Muslims attended the funeral of a popular preacher defying a nationwide lockdown (AP pic) |
DHAKA: Bangladesh has tightened a clampdown on seven villages after tens of thousands attended the funeral of a popular local cleric in spite of a nationwide lockdown to control the spread of the coronavirus, officials said on Monday.
The massive gathering in Brahmanbaria district, about 60km east of the capital Dhaka, has raised concerns about the potential for a spike in infections in a country of 160 million people with poor medical infrastructure.
“We’ve strictly ordered all residents of the seven villages to stay at home at all times at least for the next 14 days so we can identify if anyone contracted the virus following Saturday’s gathering,” a local police officer told Reuters.
Police had not expected such a large number of people to gather for the funeral, defying a weeks-long lockdown that forbids going out except for groceries and medicine. Local media said few of the mourners wore masks.
The massive gathering in Brahmanbaria district, about 60km east of the capital Dhaka, has raised concerns about the potential for a spike in infections in a country of 160 million people with poor medical infrastructure.
“We’ve strictly ordered all residents of the seven villages to stay at home at all times at least for the next 14 days so we can identify if anyone contracted the virus following Saturday’s gathering,” a local police officer told Reuters.
Police had not expected such a large number of people to gather for the funeral, defying a weeks-long lockdown that forbids going out except for groceries and medicine. Local media said few of the mourners wore masks.
The government has ordered the two most senior policemen in the district to be removed from duty for failing to prevent crowds gathering for the funeral prayers of Maulana Jubayer Ahmed Ansari who died of cancer, the police said.
Bangladesh has 2,456 confirmed coronavirus cases and 91 deaths. The government-imposed lockdown is in place until at least April 25 but many are starting to flout the rules including garment workers who took to the streets over the weekend demanding back pay.
Powerful religious leaders are also continuing to allow small congregations at mosques despite the risk of contagion and warnings from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Many people are still attending Friday prayers and the start of the holy fasting month of Ramadan later this week, when typically more worshippers will gather at mosques, will put additional pressure on authorities, officials said.
Bangladesh has 2,456 confirmed coronavirus cases and 91 deaths. The government-imposed lockdown is in place until at least April 25 but many are starting to flout the rules including garment workers who took to the streets over the weekend demanding back pay.
Powerful religious leaders are also continuing to allow small congregations at mosques despite the risk of contagion and warnings from Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
Many people are still attending Friday prayers and the start of the holy fasting month of Ramadan later this week, when typically more worshippers will gather at mosques, will put additional pressure on authorities, officials said.
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kaytee notes:
This is reminiscent of the Malaysian Petaling tabligh gathering.
When devotees ignore medical advice to breach MCO, what could the government have done short of arresting many of the religious following?
Such violations of lockdown orders for the sake of religion are not confined to Islam only, but also to Christians and Hindus.
The fault lies not with the religions per se but the religious and political leaders who ignore medical advice.
wuhan 100k mass gather so not to spoil cny mood, many claim xi said okay. 2x5. true or not i dun know, either major a liar or xi is one.
ReplyDeleteDon't know!
DeleteThen don't fart lah!
Simple?
But for a cocooned demoNcratic f*ckhead the temptation is just too much to tahan. Die2 must also let that pent up gas leaks. Otherwise, the brain will burst despite the fact that there is totally nothing there to waste.
"Die2 must also let that pent up gas leaks. Otherwise, the brain will burst despite the fact that there is totally nothing there to waste." CK
DeleteLMAO ! Ha Ha Ha Ha....mampus lah Dumbo HY...without you, how to get such a laugh, hehehehe
i dun know who is the liar, my england genius. i actually believe the mayor more, one case for ref, musa vs mahathir in memali tragedy, thats common sense in power politicking.
DeleteAllah will protect the Banglas.
ReplyDeleteJust as the Wuhan mass gathering just before CNY was protected by the CCP.