The Bangladesh government has imposed movement restrictions on seven districts near Dhaka for nine days starting Tuesday, virtually shutting off the capital from the rest of the country in the wake of sharp spikes in Covid-19 cases and deaths.

The daily positivity rate on Monday was 19.27 percent, the highest since April 17 when the country was at the height of the second wave of the pandemic.

The death rate is currently 1.59 percent, with 78 deaths reported on Monday -- the highest number of single-day deaths reported since May 2, The Daily Star reported.

The restrictions -- from 6:00 am on Tuesday till midnight on June 30 -- will specifically bar the movement of people in and out of the districts near the capital, according to a circular issued by the Cabinet Division.

Dhaka will only be accessible through a small portion of the border it shares with Tangail district, but no major highway leads into Dhaka through that part.

In another development, Khulna's district administration announced a weeklong lockdown for the whole district starting on Tuesday.

According to the Cabinet Division circular, the districts put under movement restrictions near the capital are Manikganj, Narayanganj, Munshiganj, Gazipur, Madaripur, Rajbari and Gopalganj. The first four are districts bordering Dhaka.

"Everything will be closed. People will not be able to move about. The districts will be completely blocked off; nobody will be able to enter or exit," said Cabinet Division Secretary Md. Rezaul Islam.

The circular said the decision was made "taking into consideration the Covid situation across the country".

Sources in the health ministry said they have been recommending for weeks that Dhaka be cut off, ever since the more contagious Delta variant -- first found in India -- was detected in the border districts.

All government and private offices -- except for those providing essential services such as post, utilities, internet and telecommunications -- will have to remain closed. The media too is exempted.

Only ambulances and vehicles carrying goods, relief, health services and essential goods would be allowed to move about. Staff vehicles of essential providers are also exempted.

All long-route buses from Dhaka and launch, speedboats and passenger trawler services along Mushiganj's Shimulia and Madaripur's Banglabazar water routes will also remain suspended till June 30.

The lockdown in Khulna and the "movement restrictions" around Dhaka come at a time when the country is already going through a nationwide phase of "movement restrictions" that was announced on June 16 and is slated to go on till July 15.

According to the government notification, all tourist spots, resorts, community and entertainment centres were supposed to be closed, and all forms of public gathering were supposed to be banned.

However, apart from educational establishments, all economic activities have been going on in full swing.

(SAM)