Bangladeshi workers rush for home before sweeping COVID lockdown

Lockdown announcement sparks huge exodus of migrant workers from capital Dhaka to home villages.

Thousands of people are stranded in Bangladesh capital after the authorities halted almost all public transport before a sweeping weeklong lockdown, imposed to combat a deadly resurgence of COVID-19 infections, begins on Thursday. The country has reported pandemic highs of more than 8,300 fresh infections on Monday and 119 deaths on Sunday. It has a total caseload of nearly 900,000 and just more than 14,000 COVID-19 deaths. But experts say the actual numbers could be much higher due to possible underreporting.