In a circular on Friday, the education ministry said the decision will be effective for all educational institutions except Qawmi madrasas.

The government closed schools and educational institutions on March 17 last year after the country confirmed its first cases of Covid-19 on March 8. The shutdown has been extended several times, most recently until January 16 of this year.

Also Read: Educational Institutions Won’t Reopen Until Corona Situation Improves: PM

Friday’s circular says the shutdown has been extended to protect students from coronavirus infection.

During this extended period, students will stay at home.

The number of coronavirus cases in Bangladesh stood at 526,485 on Friday with 7,862 deaths – a death rate of 1.49%. So far, 471,123 patients – 89.48% – have recovered.

Read also: Educational institutions should reopen in March: Quader

Since January 1 of this year, the number of new cases, the number of daily deaths and recoveries has decreased.

Covid-19 vaccine on the way

Things look bright in the fight against the coronavirus.

Bangladesh approved emergency use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine on January 7, allowing Beximco Pharmaceuticals to deliver doses from the Serum Institute of India, which makes the vaccine.

Read also: Covid-19: Bangladesh authorizes emergency use of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine

As part of the deal, Bangladesh will import 30 million doses of Serum over the next six months. “If all goes well, we will have the vaccines by mid-January,” Health Minister Zahid Maleques said.

On December 28, the Bangladeshi pharmaceutical company Globe Biotech obtained approval from the DGDA to manufacture the Covid-19 vaccine for clinical trials.

Read also: Covid-19: Globe Biotech gets the green light to manufacture a vaccine for clinical trial

Health Minister Maleque said on Thursday they were ready to launch a vaccination campaign once the vaccines came in from overseas.

Read also: Offices of educational institutions will remain open: Ministry