Thousands stranded in Bangladesh before sweeping COVID lockdown

Majority of South Asian nation’s 168 million people will be confined to their homes by Thursday as part of restrictions.

Thousands of people have been stranded in Bangladesh’s capital as authorities halt almost all public transport before a sweeping lockdown imposed to combat a deadly resurgence of COVID-19 infections. The country reported 119 deaths on Sunday, its highest-ever daily death toll from the pandemic, while new infections have been averaging nearly 5,000 for the past few days. Officials blame the recent spike in cases on the highly contagious coronavirus Delta variant first identified in neighbouring India.