Bangladesh shuts down seven villages after 100,000 people gather at cleric's funeral

Authorities in Bangladesh have shut down seven villages to control the spread of the deadly coronavirus after 100,000 people defied government restrictions to attend the funeral of a religious leader in eastern Bangladesh on Saturday.

The funeral for Maulana Zubayer Ahmad Ansari, an Islamic teacher, broke the country's ban of no more than five people attending prayers at one time, sparking fears of a new coronavirus outbreak emerging from the event. Maulana Jubaer Ahmed Ansari was a leader of Islamic organisation Khilafat Majlish.

The estimated size of the crowd was confirmed by the local authorities and PM's special assistant, Shah Ali Farhad.

"We wanted to make a small arrangement for the funeral following the government's guideline on maintaining health safety. But people gathered out of their respect without our knowledge. We have no idea how it happened," said Mufti Mubarrok Ullah, Principal of Jamia Rahmania Madrasa.

Bangladesh has reported seven new deaths caused by the new coronavirus outbreak, bringing the country's total to 91 deaths.

The country's number of infections rose by 312, taking the total to 2,456.

Health Minister Zahid Maleque has criticised the administration for struggling to enforce a ban on large gatherings after the government failed to stop a massive funeral prayer on Saturday attended by thousands of people.

Authorities in Pakistan and Bangladesh and even India have struggled to persuade conservative religious groups to maintain social distancing to curb the spread of the virus.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh has tightened a clampdown on seven villages to control the spread of the coronavirus, officials said.

The massive gathering in Brahmanbaria district, about 60 km east of the capital Dhaka, has raised concerns about the potential for a spike in infections in a country of 160 million people with poor medical infrastructure.

"We've strictly ordered all residents of the seven villages to stay at home at all times at least for the next 14 days so we can identify if anyone contracted the virus following Saturday's gathering," a local police officer said.

(With inputs from Reuters)