Factories can operate following health guidelines: health minister

Health minister Zahid Maleque on Sunday said that in order to remain in operation apparel factories need to follow the health guidelines set by the ministry that ask to ensure physical distance and introduce regular body temperature screening of workers by forming factory-based monitoring cells.

‘Both life and livelihood of the people should continue,’ said the minister in an online briefing after meeting with the representatives of Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association and Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association at his office.

BKMEA president Selim Osman, BGMEA president Rubana Haque, public security division secretary Mostafa Kamal Uddin, industry secretary Md Abdul Halim, labour ministry secretary KM Ali Azam, inspector general of police Benazir Ahmed, Bangladesh Medical Association president Mostafa Jalal Mohiuddin, Swadhinata Chikitsak Parishad president Professor Iqbal Arslan were present at the meeting.

The government asked the business leaders to arrange for hospitals and isolation centres for treating COVID-19-infected apparel workers if required, Zahid said.

BGMEA and BKMEA leaders were also asked to ensure physical distance between workers and body temperature screening before entry and each factory must also form a health monitoring cell following the guidelines issued by the health ministry, Zahid said.

The factory-based committees, he said, would communicate with the ministry’s central monitoring cell.

‘We also told them to arrange for transportation, food and accommodations maintaining social distancing guidelines,’ Zahid said, adding that the factories would be placed under lockdown if ‘a significant number of infected patients are found.’

The police was asked to ensure restrictions on public movements at the industrial belts while deputy commissioners of 64 districts were asked to keep records of workers so that 14-day mandatory home quarantine could be ensured after they return home, he said.

‘The BGMEA and BKMEA leaders agreed to our proposals,’ Zahid claimed.

Though different reports said that 12 workers of 10 apparel factories were already infected, BGMEA senior vice-president Faisal Samad claimed that the association had no data. 

‘BIRDEM and Enam Medical College Hospital agreed to treat workers if required. We are negotiating with four more hospitals. These are the conditions owners need to fulfil before opening their factories,’ he said.

BGMEA’s 12 healthcare centres would be used as isolation centres, he said.

‘We would arrange four COVID-19 testing laboratories in the four clusters of factories located in Dhaka, Gazipur, Narayanganj and Chattogram,’ he said.

BGMEA, however, did not agree to provide transportation and accommodations for the workers, he said.

Many factories resumed operations last week amid the shutdown, allegedly without ensuring health guidelines as asked by the government, exposing workers to risks of coronavirus transmission.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net