Labor advocates are questioning if Bangladesh’s garment sector, which employs 4 million workers, is lifting restrictions too soon.

More than 1,750 factories in Bangladesh have come back online despite the nationwide lockdown. BGMEA inspectors have found the reopened factories by and large satisfactory, but union leaders warn that many of them fail to follow safety measures meant to protect workers from the spread of the contagion.

According to the Bangladesh Centre for Worker Solidarity, only 20 percent of the factories are maintaining social distancing and that’s because they are big factories and they have the space. The rest are focusing on the other aspects of the health guidelines such as providing soap or measuring the temperature of workers before they enter.

At least 100 factories have struggled to maintain social distancing, particularly when workers enter and leave the premises, said Sommilito Garments Sramik Federation, a union representing more than 100,000 workers.

Since the outbreak began in January, Bangladesh has officially clocked 18,863 positive cases and 283 deaths. Under dispute, however, is the number of garment workers who have tested positive for COVID-19 since factories began opening on a limited scale on April 25.