Covid-19: 28 more deaths, over 1,800 new infections in Bangladesh

Bangladesh recorded 28 more deaths from Covid-19 in the 24 hours until Saturday morning, pushing the overall death toll from the pandemic in the country to 6,350.

A total 1,848 new cases were detected, bringing the total number of infections to 445,281, reports UNB.

The death rate stands at 1.43%, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

So far, 360,352 patients -- 80.93%-- have recovered, including 1,921 recoveries in the last 24 hours.

Bangladesh reported its first cases on March 8. The number of infections reached the 300,000-mark on August 26. The first death was reported on March 18 and the death toll exceeded 6,000 on November 4.

Until now, 2,635,202 tests have been carried out, including 12,643 tests in the last 24 hours. The daily test positivity rate stood at 14.61%, while the overall test positivity rate is 16.9%, according to DGHS sources quoted by BSS.

Among the 28 fresh deaths, 8 were male and were 10 were female. One person was aged between 11 and 20, one each were in their 30s and 40s, six were in their 50s, and 19 were over the age of 60.

According to the division-wise data, 16 deaths took place in Dhaka division and rests are in other divisions.

Among the total 6,350 deaths, 3,349 deaths occurred in Dhaka division, 1,231 in Chattogram division, 388 in Rajshahi division, 486 in Khulna division, 214 in Barishal division, 262 in Sylhet division, 290 in Rangpur division and 130 in Mymensingh division.

Per million, Bangladesh has recorded 2,614.59 infections, 2,115.90 recoveries, and 37.29 deaths. 

Telemedicine

The DGHS said the government has introduced telemedicine services with 100 physicians in order to make treatment facilities easily accessible for Covid-19 patients in the country.

A total of 555,273 people have so far received healthcare services through telemedicine.

The DGHS further said 22,702,982 people have received healthcare services through hotline mobile numbers and health web portals.

To receive information and treatment facilities on Covid-19, the contact hotline and mobile numbers are 16263; 333; 10655 and 01944333222.

Global situation

The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases has surpassed 57.5 million globally with over 1.3 million fatalities as of Saturday, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

According to the data compiled by JHU, the death toll from Covid-19 has shot up to 1,372,182 while the total caseload reached at 57, 564,083 as of Saturday.

The US, which is the worst affected country, has reported 11,910, 858 cases with 254,413 fatalities as of Saturday morning, the data shows.

The surging coronavirus is taking an increasingly dire toll across the US just as a vaccine appears close at hand, with the country now averaging over 1,300 Covid-19 deaths per day — the highest level since the calamitous spring in and around New York City, reports AP.

The overall US death toll has reached about 254,000, by far the most in the world. Confirmed infections have eclipsed more than 11.8 million, after the biggest one-day gain on record Thursday — almost 188,000. And the number of people in hospitals with Covid-19 hit another all-time high at more than 80,000.

India's Covid-19 tally reached 9,050,597 on Saturday with 46,232 new cases registered during the past 24 hours, said the latest data from the country’s Health Ministry.

According to the data, the death toll mounted to 132,726 as 564 more patients died since Friday morning.

There are still 439,747 active cases in the country, while 8,478,124 people have been discharged from hospitals after medical treatment, the data further said.

Meanwhile, the Covid-19 vaccine Covaxin, which is being developed by India's biotechnology company Bharat Biotech International Limited, entered the third phase of trial on Friday.