Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Sunday said one crore people would be brought under corona vaccination coverage in the next one week. People do not need to register for the vaccine. They have to go to the designated centers with Nation Identity (NID) cards. Those who do not have a NID card will be vaccinated under a special system, he said. With the reopening of garment factories the number of corona infection would increase, the minister feared. He said this in response to a question from reporters at the inaugural function of the first year MBBS class of 2020-21 at BCPS Auditorium at Mohakhali on Sunday. The Health Minister said, "People from different parts of the country have joined the workplace as garments have reopened from today (Sunday). But they don't not follow the hygiene rules. As a result, corona
infection will increase. Livelihood is needed for life. The government has to think of everything. The government has to keep that balance between life and livelihood but the balance cannot always be maintained." Zahid Maleque said, "1.6 percent of corona patients have died in the country. Now there is less infection in the north region of the country. Infection in the middle region is stable. It is increasing in the eastern region like Cumilla. But there is no opportunity to increase the number of beds in hospitals." Asked whether there will be restrictions, the Health Minister said, "There should be restrictions. We are not free yet from the deadly virus. In our country, corona infection is still upward. Restrictions must be in place. We have to abide by the restrictions. We have started the vaccination programme. It is also a vital tool against coronavirus. Now vaccine is coming every week. We have a big plan for vaccination." Currently, the country has 12,189,000 doses of vaccines, the Health Minister disclosed on Saturday. Another 34 lakh doses of the Sinopharm vaccine will arrive in the first or second week of August. Additionally, more AstraZeneca vaccines will arrive and 60 lakh doses of Pfizer will be available in August, the minister also said. Lokman Hossain Mia, Senior Secretary of the Health Services Division, and Ali Noor, Secretary of Health Education and Family Welfare also spoke on the occasion.