Bangladesh has extended its strict lockdown and announced plans to vaccinate at least 10 million people in a week as the country battles a major Covid-19 surge.

According to AFP, the vaccination drive from August 7 will be led by tens of thousands of health workers at 14,000 health centres, senior minister Mozammel Haque said.

“More than 10m people will be vaccinated in a week. Elderly people, workers and shopkeepers will be given the priority,” Haque said.

Bangladesh has so far reported some 1.3m cases and some 21,160 deaths — figures experts said are a gross undercount.

A nurse injects Oxford-AstraZeneca's Covishield vaccine to an elderly man at the Dhaka Medical College vaccination centre in Dhaka, Bangladesh in February, 2021. —Reuters/File
A nurse injects Oxford-AstraZeneca's Covishield vaccine to an elderly man at the Dhaka Medical College vaccination centre in Dhaka, Bangladesh in February, 2021. —Reuters/File

Opinion

Editorial

Sustainable path?
Updated 13 Jun, 2026

Sustainable path?

The FY27 budget is the first clear signal that the government is ready to transition from stabilisation to growth.
Prioritising education
13 Jun, 2026

Prioritising education

THOUGH the improvement in the country’s literacy rate may be slight, as highlighted by the Economic Survey, it ...
Poverty’s rise
13 Jun, 2026

Poverty’s rise

AS attention turns to the government’s plans for the coming fiscal year, one set of figures deserves particular...
A difficult story
Updated 12 Jun, 2026

A difficult story

Unless productivity becomes the dominant target of economic policy, Pakistan will continue to oscillate between crises and fragile recovery.
Rough waters
12 Jun, 2026

Rough waters

AMONGST the key potential triggers for fresh conflict in South Asia is water. The Indian state is behaving in an...
Politicised football
12 Jun, 2026

Politicised football

ALMOST three-and-half years since Lionel Messi led Argentina to FIFA World Cup glory, the latest edition of...