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Agencies

Hundreds of thousands of students returned to classrooms on Sunday, as Bangladesh reopened schools after nearly one and a half years of closure because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The students of the first to fourth grades, and sixth to ninth grades, will attend classes once a week for an initial period of three weeks,” Education Minister Dipu Moni said.
Those who are scheduled to sit for public exams at the end of fifth, 10th and 12th grades will attend classes every day, she said, adding all other classes will resume gradually, situation permitting.

She ordered the school authorities to properly maintain the health guidelines to prevent the spread of the virus.
Bangladesh shut all educational institutes in March 2020, two weeks after the first cases of novel coronavirus emerged in the South Asian country.
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The virus has so far infected more than 1.5 million people, with 26,880 deaths in Bangladesh, which has reported a downward trend of daily caseloads, with less than 3,000 in the first 10 days of September, compared to average daily caseloads of 10,000 in the first week of August.
Television footage showed officials at schools in Dhaka checking each students’ temperature before allowing them in. Teachers, students and staff members of the schools were seen wearing face masks.
“It feels like a festival as the students are returning to school after so long time, we welcome them all,” Nasrin Sultana, head teacher of one of the schools in Dhaka’s Mirpur neighbourhood, said.
Dressed in red and green attire, the teachers and staff members of Mirpur High Schools greeted the students with small gift box in the morning, she said.

The gate at a girls’ high school in southern Jashore district was seen decorated with colourful balloons alongside a board next to it that listed the rules and restrictions that the students must follow.
The teachers of the school were seen waiting at the gate with bowls of chocolate and flowers to welcome their students.
Bangladesh has more than 3.39 million students at the primary, secondary and higher secondary level studying across 168,100 educational institutes, according to the country’s Bureau of Statistics.
Japan passes 50 per cent vaccination rate, may ease limits
Japan’s government says more than 50 per cent of the population has been fully vaccinated.
Japan’s vaccine roll-outs began in mid-February, months behind many wealthy countries because of its lengthy clinical testing requirement and approval process. Inoculations for elderly patients, which started in April, were also slowed by supply shortages of imported vaccines, but the pace picked up in late May and has since achieved 1 million doses per day.
Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura, who is in charge of Covid-19 measures, told NHK public television’s weekly talk show Sunday that about 60 per cent of the population is expected to be fully vaccinated by the end of September, on par with current levels in Europe.
The government is studying a road map for easing restrictions around November when a large majority of the population is expected to be fully vaccinated. That would allow fully vaccinated people and those who test negative to travel, gather for parties or attend mass events.

The progress of vaccinations has helped reduce serious cases and deaths among older people, but infections from virus variants spread explosively in August among younger generations still largely unvaccinated, severely straining health care systems.
Japan last Friday extended the ongoing state of emergency in Tokyo and 18 other areas until September 30. It had been expected to end Sunday. The measures focus on requests for eateries to close early and not serve alcohol.
Japan has done much better than other developed countries in curbing illnesses and deaths without a lockdown. It has counted more than 1.65 million cases and 16,700 deaths.
Australia buys 1 million more doses of Moderna vaccine
Australia has bought an additional 1 million doses of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine from the European Union, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said, as the country accelerates its inoculation programme to fight record high infections.
The purchase is a boost for Australia’s A$2 trillion (US$1.5 trillion) economy, which is at risk of slipping into its second recession in as many years as a result of lockdowns of the country’s two most populous cities, Sydney and Melbourne.
These lockdowns will remain until 70 per cent of the country’s near 26 million population are fully vaccinated, which is not expected until late October.
But Morrison said the million doses will arrive later this week. Australia has ordered 25 million vaccines from Moderna.
“Some good news today. A family sized dose of hope for our vaccination programme,” Morrison told reporters in Sydney.

The purchase comes as Australia struggles to contain an outbreak of the highly transmissible Delta variant, with daily infections on Saturday topping 2,000 cases for the first time.
Australia has recorded 73,610 Covid-19 cases since the pandemic begun. The death toll rose by 7 to 1,091.
Australia’s most populous state, New South Wales, reported on Sunday 1,262 locally acquired Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours, down from 1,599 infections recorded a day earlier.
Neighbouring Victoria reported 392 Covid-19 infections in the past 24 hours, down slightly from the 450 cases recorded in the state the day before.
Meanwhile, Queensland, Australia’s third most populous state, said on Sunday it does not need to order a lockdown after it detected zero Covid-19 infections in the past 24 hours.
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The state on Saturday reported five cases of Covid-19, with state Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk warning that a lockdown could be needed to stop the spread of the virus.
However, the state said testing had yet to detect any further cases, avoiding the need for such a measure.
“We’re not out of the woods yet, but this is the best result we could have hoped for at this point in the outbreak,” Queensland Deputy Premier Steven Miles told reporters in Brisbane.
Reporting by DPA, Associated Press, Reuters


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Coronavirus pandemic

Coronavirus: Bangladesh reopens schools; Japan passes 50 per cent vaccination rate

Pupils queue outside a school in Dhaka after classrooms reopened in Bangladesh on Sunday after nearly one and a half years of closure. Photo: Reuters

12 September 2021, Bangladesh, Sylhet: Students at Govt Kindergarten Elementary School sit in their classroom wearing medical masks and keeping their distance from each other, on the first day after the school was closed for 543 days because of the Coronavirus pandemic. Photo: Md Rafayat Haque Khan/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa

Students stand in queues after school hours at the Viqarunnisa Noon School & College after the government has withdrawn restrictions on educational institutions following a decrease in the number of cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Dhaka, Bangladesh, September 12, 2021. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir Hossain

High school students report their health status before receiving COVID-19 vaccine in the Aichi Prefecture city of Ichinomiya, central Japan, on Sept. 12, 2021. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

epa09462956 Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison speaks to the media during a press conference at Kirribilli House in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 12 September 2021. The Australian Government announced on the day that it has secured an additional one million Moderna doses from European Union (EU) member states to further bolster Australia's COVID-19 vaccination programme. EPA-EFE/JOEL CARRETT AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND OUT

Pupils apply hand sanitiser while attending a class in Dhaka on Sunday as schools in Bangladesh reopened after nearly one and a half years of closure. Photo: Reuters

Coronavirus child brides: Bangladesh teens forced into marriage during pandemic downturn

Sharolika Parvin, 16, was an aspiring football player until she was married earlier this year and her in-laws did not allow her to continue playing. Photo: Handout

Shutterstock ID: 1463502788 put on a wedding ring

=== PHOTO CAPTURED FROM TWITTER === 59% of girls in #Bangladesh are married before age 18. Due to #COVID19 & its socioeconomic impact, it is estimated that #childmarriage will increase, globally. Through our @GPChildMarriage  programme with @UNICEFBD, we are continuing our efforts to end child marriage & save lives. Photo: UNFPA Bangladesh/ TWITTER

Delta vaccine: Chinese researchers find Sinovac booster aids immune response to devastating variant

Chinese health officials late last month recommended booster shots for high-risk and vulnerable groups, but said further study was needed before extra jabs were considered for the general public. Photo: STR/AFP

Why Southeast Asian economic growth is safe from Covid-19 Delta ravages, for now

Security officers turn away people at a vaccination centre in Metro Manila’s Las Pinas City, in the Philippines, on August 6. Whether the Delta variant prolongs the pandemic appreciably will depend on how long it takes to address the inequities in the production and distribution of vaccines globally. Photo: EPA-EFE

A deserted car park in the central business district of Jakarta on August 4. Indonesia pulled out of a recession in the second quarter but the rise in coronavirus cases and the mobility restrictions threaten the recovery momentum in the third quarter. Photo: Photo: Bloomberg

A police officer at a border checkpoint between Kuala Lumpur and Selangor state during a Movement Control Order in Petaling Jaya, in Selangor, on August 11. Malaysia has eased virus restrictions for those who are fully vaccinated, allowing them to cross state borders and dine in restaurants. Photo: Bloomberg

Japan’s vaccine minister Taro Kono enters race to become next PM

Taro Kono has told PM Yoshihide Suga of his intention to run. Photo: AP

People wait in line to get lottery tickets for the coronavirus vaccine at the Shibuya district in Tokyo Saturday, Aug. 28, 2021. Japan’s Tokyo city hall has apologized for "confusion" amid its vaccination rollout targeting young people, after crowds looking to get the shot were turned away from a facility in the district. (Kyodo News via AP)

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Coronavirus


All educational institutes in Bangladesh had been closed since March 2020, two weeks after the first Covid-19 cases emerged in the South Asian country
Elsewhere, Australia has bought an additional 1 million doses of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine from the European Union, and Tokyo mulls easing limits



All educational institutes in Bangladesh had been closed since March 2020, two weeks after the first cases of novel coronavirus emerged in the South Asian country.


Coronavirus: Bangladesh reopens schools; Japan passes 50 per cent vaccination rate

All educational institutes in Bangladesh had been closed since March 2020, two weeks after the first Covid-19 cases emerged in the South Asian country Elsewhere, Australia has bought an additional 1 million doses of Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine from the European Union, and Tokyo mulls easing limits