After a protracted shutdown, garment factories in Bangladesh have started operations on a limited scale from 26 April. However, despite safety protocols put in place by the concerned factories, many fear spread of the dreaded coronavirus amongst the garment workers.
Amidst such apprehensions, the apex garment manufacturer’s body of the country, the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), recently carried out a health and safety audit in 147 factories.
Of the total number of factories audited, 144 factories were found to be ‘satisfactory’ in terms of health and safety parameters while the other 3 still need improvements.
A BGMEA spokesperson informed this to the media underlining that the audit was carried out in the last 4 days and the audit teams were headed by six doctors.
Meanwhile, in a separate development, seven garment workers in the manufacturing hub of Savar have reportedly been tested positive for COVID-19.
“After we sent 51 samples for testing on Thursday, eight results came back as positive, of which, seven are RMG workers,” confirmed Savar Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer Dr. Saimul Huda, who suggested that factories in Savar, as such, need to remain closed for the time being to prevent further spread of the diseases.
Till the time of filing of this report, no decision was reportedly taken in this regard.
