Covid-19: Single-day infection rate now 7.03%, lowest in 4 months

Bangladesh on Saturday logged another 1,327 Covid-19 cases - a record low in 104 days - and 48 deaths in a span of 24 hours.

At the same time, the single-day infection rate on Saturday dropped to 7.03% -- the lowest daily test positivity rate in 4 months. The country recorded a lower infection rate (6.75%) on May 17, followed by a steep rise in the next couple of months.

On May 18, the country reported 1,272 cases, and it has been on an increase since.

With this, the death toll now stands at 26,880, and the total number of cases rose to 15,28,542.

The latest figures were published via a health bulletin by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the number of infections recorded between Friday and Saturday is the lowest in two-and-a-half months.

On Friday, the country logged a record low number of deaths (38) after a three months high.

A total of 18,869 samples were tested across the country in 24 hours, of which 7.03% tested positive. The overall test positivity rate stands at 16.58%. The mortality rate, meanwhile, remains constant at 1.76%.

At least 3,168 Covid-19 patients recovered in the last 24 hours taking the total number of recoveries to 1,475,235. The recovery rate currently stands at 96.51%.

Also Read - Daily Covid death toll drops to 3-month low

Of the 48 deceased, 22 were male and 26 female. Seventeen were in the age group of 61-70, nine between 71-80 years of age, and three between 81-90, and one between 91-100 years old. Thirteen were between 51-60 years of age, four between 41-50, and one was between 31-40 years old.

Among the reported deaths, 22 died in Dhaka division, 12 in Chittagong, four each in Rajshahi and Rangpur, two each in Khulna and Sylhet, and one each died in Barisal and Mymensingh divisions.

The countrywide Covid-19 restrictions imposed after Eid-ul-Azha were eased soon afterwards from August 11, much to the dismay of public health experts.

They fear the recent downward trend in Covid-19 infections and deaths is only temporary and another wave of the pandemic may be just around the corner.

Health professionals dread that while the infection rate may drop to as low as 10% by mid-September, it will start spiking again after that.

Bangladesh reported its first three cases of Covid-19, a severe acute respiratory illness caused by a strain of coronavirus later named Sars-CoV-2, on March 8 last year. The first death was reported 10 days later.

The fast-spreading coronavirus has so far claimed over 4.63 million lives and infected more than 224.77 million people throughout the world till Saturday afternoon, according to Worldometer.

More than 201.35 million people have recovered from the disease, which has affected 222 countries and territories across the planet.