DHAKA: The Bangladesh government on Saturday decided to impose a week-long nationwide lockdown from Monday as COVID-19 cases and deaths spiraled up across the country.

Accordingly, All international passenger flights to and from Bangladesh will remain suspended from April 14 to 20, DPA news quoted the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB) as saying in a statement.  More than 500 flights will be cancelled because of the ban, said the CAAB's Air Vice Marshal M Mafidur Rahman.

Domestic passenger flights and chartered helicopter flights are among those to be suspended, while some exceptions may be made for medical evacuations, humanitarian relief and cargo flights, the aviation authority said.

Bangladesh on Friday logged 6,830 new cases of the coronavirus, the highest count in a day, taking the tally of infections to 624,594. The death toll climbed by 50 in 24 hours to 9,155, according to data released by the government.

In a bid to arrest the spread of the coronavirus, the government has decided to enforce a seven-day lockdown from Monday as the coronavirus cases and deaths are surging across the country, Quader, also the general secretary of the ruling Awami League, said.

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