‘Red zone’ areas in the capital and elsewhere in the country will be put under lockdown soon to contain further spread of coronavirus.

The government has decided to impose zone-based lockdown to prevent further transmission of the virus, state minister for public administration Farhad Hossain told journalists on Sunday.

“We have decided to bring worst virus-hit areas under lockdown aimed at checking its further spread,” he added.

In the capital, around 45 areas have been marked as red zones.

Of them, 17 are in Dhaka north while the rest 28 in Dhaka south areas. Eleven areas have been marked as red zone in Chattogram.

The fresh lockdown areas include Dhaka, Chattogram, Narayanganj, Gazipur, Munshiganj, Cox’s Bazar, Cumilla and Noakhali where maximum coronavirus infection cases have been detected.

The lockdowns already has been enforced on a ‘pilot basis’ in East Rajabazar area in Dhaka city from June 9 identifying the area as red zone of the coronavirus infection.

According to IEDCR, maximum coronavirus cases have been detected in Dhaka city, including Adabar, Agargaon, Azimpur, Babu Bazar, Badda, Basabo, Gendaria, Gulshan, Malibagh, Khilgaon, Lalbagh, Mugda, Mohakhali, Mohammadpur, Jatrabari, Dhanmondi, Kakrail, Mirpur, Rajarbag and Rampura.

The high official of the health ministry further said the lockdown will be imposed for 14-21 days.

Health ministry sources said, the government will divide the entire country in red zone, yellow zone and green zone as per intensity of coronavirus transmission and will impose restriction wherever it is needed.

The government reopened offices and public transport system on May 31 after over two months of a lockdown in the form of general holidays and stay-at-home orders.

The government on June 1 in a high-level meeting at the Cabinet Division at the secretariat decided to divide different areas of the country into three zones—red, yellow and green—based on the intensity of coronavirus infection, to check spread of the virus.

Last week, local administrations imposed fresh lockdowns in more areas of the country declaring them to be ‘red zones’ to contain the spread of Covid-19.

After imposing a lockdown in Cox’s Bazar district town from Saturday morning, the authorities on Sunday declared some areas of Ukhiya upazila as red zones and imposed lockdowns there while three city areas in Narayanganj were declared as red zones and were placed under lockdown on the same day.

Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research sources said that the detection of 30 infected people or above per one lakh in any place will be classified as red zone in Dhaka while detection of 10 people or above per one lakh outside Dhaka will be classified as red zone.

Infection of 20 to 29 in Dhaka and 3 to 9 out of Dhaka will be considered as yellow zone and less than that would be classified under green zone.