Bangladesh factories resume work, risking new virus cases

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Bangladesh has reopened hundreds of its garment factories this week after practically a month of closures to fight the coronavirus pandemic in a move critics say risks igniting a sharp upsurge in infections among workers.

An industry group said about 850 factories are operating with fewer personnel than usual and following safety guidelines. Labor advocates say insufficient is being done to make sure safety for the 4 million staff in Bangladesh’s roughly 4,000 garment factories.

The number of factories which may have reopened is in dispute. Activists and analysts said Friday about 2,000 garment factories have restarted production.

The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association says only 850 factories had opened by Thursday, by using a limited number of staff who live nearby.

“The global brands are pleased to see the factories opening up as otherwise a complete season could have been lost,” Mohammad Abdur Razzak, secretary of the industry group, said in an email.

Razzak said the factories were complying with health guidelines and that inspections discovered that only four of 105 visited weren't meeting standards.

As holds true elsewhere workers and their employers are torn between suffering still more loss of income by staying closed and risking a surge in infections if indeed they stop taking precautions too soon.

The resumption of manufacturing followed a government decision to permit companies to reopen that was made under heavy pressure from businesses. Factories went ahead, fearing they might lose business to opponents in Vietnam, Cambodia, India, Sri Lanka and India.

A senior government health official in a significant professional zone near Dhaka urged factories to close down again.

Bangladesh has confirmed 7,667 persons infected with coronavirus and 168 deaths since its first case was reported on March 8. About 500 new cases are being confirmed daily in the country of 160 million people, which includes only 25 testing facilities and a fragile healthcare system.

Thousands of staff reportedly are rushing back again to reclaim their jobs in the administrative centre, Dhaka and nearby commercial districts, alarming labor advocates.

“Who will take the duty if hundreds of personnel become ill?” said Kalpona Akter, executive director of the Bangladesh Center for Workers Solidarity.

Ahsan H. Mansur, executive director of the neighborhood think tank Policy Research Institute, said at least another week must have been allowed to better plan reopening.

“The factories have resumed operations without giving it much thought," he said. “You will find a huge threat of virus transmission among workers."
Source: https://www.columbiabasinherald.com

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