Following media reports in the last few days that the number of coronavirus cases amongst the garment workers is on the rise as many garment manufacturing units were allegedly flouting the safety guidelines, the country’s Health and Family Welfare Minister has now stepped in to control the situation.

On Sunday, Zahid Maleque made it clear that any garment manufacturing unit, if found with coronavirus-positive workers, would have to shut down for some time before it could resume operations again.

Last week, around seven garment workers in the garment manufacturing hub of Savar were reported to have been tested positive for the dreaded virus while reports are also trickling in about workers being infected by COVID-19 in other manufacturing hubs, spread across the country.

To tackle the emerging situation, the Health and Family Welfare Minister said teams at zonal/factory levels would be formed to keep a tab on implementation of safety protocols by the garment manufacturing units including the very important norm of maintaining social distancing.

“The national committee will oversee all activities of factory-level teams to ensure that health regulations are being followed strictly,” Zahid underlined.

The Minister also said that his ministry is planning to introduce testing facilities at the industrial belts to detect coronavirus cases and implement immediate preventive measures to ensure that the disease is not spread further.