“In the last 24 hours, 37 patients have died, pushing up the death tally to 2,965,” Additional Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Prof Dr Nasima Sultana told a regular online briefing.
Meanwhile, 1,801 patients recovered during the past 24 hours and with them, 1,25,683 have recovered so far from Covid-19 – with a recovery rate of 55.56 percent.
During this period, 12,859 tests were carried out. The daily infection rate slipped to 21.56 percent but the overall percentage rose to 20.12.
Prof Nasima said among the latest fatalities, 26 were men and 11 were women.
“Thirty-three of them died at hospitals and four at home. Dhaka saw 24 new deaths, Chattogram five, Khulna two, Mymensingh one, Rangpur three and Barishal division two,” she said.
Among them, one was aged between 21 and 30 years, one between 31 and 40, seven between 41 and 50, seven between 51 and 60, 12 between 61 and 70, eight between 71 and 80, and one between 81 and 90 and years.
At present 19,007 people are in isolation while 58,390 are home and institutionally quarantined in the country.
‘Be careful, follow hygiene rules’
Bangladesh reported its first coronavirus cases on March 8 and the first fatality on March 18. The government declared the whole country vulnerable to infection and announced ‘general holidays’ to curb the transmission of the virus.
But the number of cases continued to rise over the weeks. The situation has hardly improved even as the number of tests has come down. An increasing number of cases is putting a severe strain on Bangladesh’s healthcare system.
There is no vaccine available for the virus and the health authorities say maintaining health guidelines, hygiene and recommended physical distance from others can help protect people from coronavirus.
Dr Nasima urged everyone to follow the hygiene rules and take necessary preparations before visiting any cattle market.
“Be aware, be careful,” she said. “Before Eid-ul-Adha, everyone should follow the hygiene rules at the animal market.”
Covid-19 cases were first reported in China in December last year. In March, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it a pandemic.