Covid toll tops 14,000 in Bangladesh

The daily Covid test positivity rate hit a 77-day high of 22.50 per cent in 24 hours till 8:00am on Saturday while 77 more people died of the viral disease during the same period.

The Directorate General of Health Services in its daily Covid situation report said that 4,334 new cases were detected after testing 19,262 samples during the 24 hours.

The overall number of Covid cases has increased to 8,83,138 and deaths to 14,053 since the first cases of coronavirus were detected in the country on March 8, 2020.

The weekly number of deaths and cases maintained an almost 50 per cent increase for the 2nd consecutive week in the past week, the 25th epidemiological week this year ending on Saturday, said the DGHS.

A total of 587 people died of Covid-19 in the past seven days, up from 395 people killed by the viral disease in the previous week, as weakly enforced localised lockdowns were far from containing a fast spread of the disease.

In the 23rd epidemiological week, the coronavirus killed 270 people, according to the DGHS.

In the 25th epidemiological week, the virus infected 35,111 people, up from 23,541 people in the week before. 

Dhaka division reported for the first time in about two months a daily test positivity rate of more than 20 per cent with Faridpur district finding 89 per cent of 175 samples tested in the 24 hours infected with Covid-19.

The daily number of Covid cases in other areas like Barishal, Chattogram, Sylhet and Myemensingh divisions kept climbing while high transmission of the disease continued in Rangpur and Khulna divisions.

‘It is really difficult to bring the test positivity rate down once it crosses a  certain point,’ said Khulna divisional health director Rasheda Sultana.

The overall daily test positivity in Khulna division was 42 per cent with Khulna, Chuadanga, Jhenidah and Kushtia districts reporting about 40 per cent positivity.

Jashore district reported 50 per cent positivity while  the rate was 67 per cent in Meherpur district, said the DGHS daily health update.

‘All 10 districts in Khulna division are more or less under movement curbs and we hope to see a fall in daily Covid cases in the coming days,’ said Khulna divisional commissioner Ismiel Hossain. 

Despite repeated calls from experts, the daily number of tests fell below 20,000 across the country on Saturday.

New Age correspondent in Rajshahi University reported that Covid-19 had so far killed 291 people in the district this month.

Rajshahi Medical College Hospital director Brigadier General Shameem Yazdany said that 29 people died of the disease in January, followed by 17 deaths reported in February, 31 in March, 79 in April and 124 in May.

The RMCH admitted 52 new people in the hospital in the last 24 hours until 8:00am on Saturday, increasing the total number of patients admitted in the hospital’s 357-bed Covid unit to 431.

According to the DGHS update, 8,00,854 Covid patients have recovered so far in the country.

Forty-eight of the 77 fresh dead were men and the rest women.

Government hospitals recorded 65 fresh deaths, private hospitals 7 while 4 died at home and 1 was brought dead to hospital.

Chattogram division reported the highest 20 fresh deaths, followed by Khulna with 19 deaths, Dhaka with 17, Rajshahi with 9, Sylhet and Rangpur with 4 each, Mymensingh with 3 and Barishal with 1.

Thirty-eight of the deceased were above 60 years while 17 were between 51 years and 60 years, 13 between 41 years and 50 years, five between 31 years and 40 years, three between 21 years and 30 years and one between 11 years and 20 years, according to the DGHS update.

New Age correspondent in Satkhira reported that nine people died with Covid symptoms in the district in the 24 hours until Saturday morning.

News Courtesy- https://www.newagebd.net/article/141999/covid-toll-tops-14000-in-bangladesh