Shawdesh Desk:

A legal notice was sent to the authorities concerned seeking implementation of a High Court (HC) order to make 14-day quarantine mandatory for all foreign returnees.

The notice also sought an explanation on why the progress report on implementing HC’s four-point directive was not submitted to the court.

Health Minister Zahid Maleque, State Minister for Civil Aviation and Tourism Md Mahbub Ali and five others were made respondents to the notice issued by Supreme Court lawyer Yunus Ali Akhand.

The notice asked the respondents to reply within 24 hours and warned that a contempt of court case will be filed against them if they don’t respond.

On March 19 last year, the HC issued a rule along with a four-point interim directive after an initial hearing on a writ petition filed by Akhand.

It also issued a rule seeking an explanation why airports and seaports won’t be directed to ensure 14-day quarantine and health examination.

Covid-19 would not have spread to this extent had the authorities concerned followed the directive on mandatory quarantine of foreign returnees, the lawyer said.

The cabinet secretary is yet to file the progress report which was scheduled to be submitted within April 16 last year, he said.

Covid-19 situation

Bangladesh posted its highest single-day death count from the virus for the third consecutive day on Monday.

The health authorities confirmed 83 deaths in the afternoon, surpassing Sunday’s figure of 78. The number was 77 on Saturday.

Fatalities from Covid-19 rose to 9,822 as the mortality rate remained static at 1.42 percent for the fourth consecutive day, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said in a handout.