Lockdown breach: 7 Bangladeshi villages fully shut down

DHAKA, Bangladesh

Seven villages in eastern Bangladesh were put under complete lockdown on Sunday amid fears of a possible outbreak of the novel coronavirus after a large funeral gathering for a popular Muslim cleric.

"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," Abu Sayed, Assistant Superintendent of Police in Brahmanbaria district, told Anadolu Agency.

Tens of thousands of people defied government restrictions on Saturday to attend the funeral prayer of a religious leader in the remote area.

People from different parts of the country, though mostly from nearby villages, traveled to Brahmanbaria to observe the funeral rites of Muslim preacher Jubayer Ahmad Ansari, who was also the deputy head of an Islamic political party, the Bangladesh Khelafat Majlish.

Local media, citing residents and police officials, reported that around 100,000 people attended the funeral despite a nationwide coronavirus lockdown.

The massive gathering has raised fears of a potential spike in COVID-19 transmission in Brahmanbaria, which has 18 cases and three deaths so far.

Local authorities have been accused of failing to curb the gathering, with three senior local police officials withdrawn from their posts.

“With the consent of the government, our [police] headquarters has taken action against those officials for their failure to control the mass gathering," Sayed said.

However, the withdrawn head of local police told Anadolu Agency that they "never thought that such a large number of people would show up at a time when there is a countrywide lockdown. They came from all sides -- even through the fields and other normally unused routes."

The coronavirus death tally in Bangladesh reached 91 with seven new casualties, while total cases stand at 2,456 with 312 additional cases as of Sunday. So far 75 people have recovered from the disease, according to government data.

The novel coronavirus has spread to 185 countries and regions since emerging in China last December, with the U.S. and Europe now the hardest-hit areas in the world.

More than 2.39 million cases have been reported worldwide, with the death toll above 165,600 and recoveries over 611,700, according to data compiled by the U.S.’ Johns Hopkins University.