The government has suspended the issuance of new passports over the Covid-19 pandemic, an official says.
"Passport processing stops on Monday (Mar 23) except for those ones of hajj pilgrims and emergencies," Director General of Department of Immigration and Passports Major General Shakil Ahmed told Bangla Tribune.
Issuance of new passports will remain suspended until the situations improve, he added.
However, those who earlier applied for passport were told to collect it on time.
Shakil said they suspended the passport issuances as both e-passport and machine-readable passports require fingerprints from applicants which raises the risks of the spreading of the coronavirus.

On Monday morning, people were seen standing in the queue in the passport offices before they were told to leave by the security guards.
As of Monday, Bangladesh has reported 27 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus and two deaths.
First reported in China’s Wuhan late last year, coronavirus so far has infected more than 300,000 people and claimed over 13,000 lives in over 179 countries and territories.
The World Health Organization on Mar 12 declared the coronavirus or Covid-19 crisis a pandemic.