COVID-19
Bangladesh reports zero Covid death, eight new cases
Bangladesh reported eight more Covid cases in the 24 hours to Friday morning.
With the new numbers, the country's total caseload rose to 2,037,011, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
However, the official death toll from the disease remained unchanged at 29,438 as no new fatalities were reported.
The daily case test positivity dropped to 0.37 percent from Thursday's 0.62 percent as 2,178 samples were tested during the period.
Read: Bangladesh logs 16 more Covid cases
The mortality rate and the recovery rate remained unchanged at 1.45 percent and 97.55 percent, respectively.
In November, the country reported 10 Covid-linked deaths and 1,345 cases.
Bangladesh registered its highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year and daily fatalities of 264 on August 10 the same year.
China limits how it defines COVID deaths in official count
China only counts deaths from pneumonia or respiratory failure in its official COVID-19 death toll, a Chinese health official said, in a narrow definition that limits the number of deaths reported, as an outbreak of the virus surges following the easing of pandemic-related restrictions.
Deaths that occur in patients with pre-existing illnesses are not counted as COVID-19 deaths, said Wang Guiqiang, the head of infectious disease at Peking University's No. 1 Hospital.
China has always been conservative in how it counts illnesses, whether from the flu or COVID-19. In most countries, including the United States, guidelines stipulate that any death where COVID-19 is a factor or contributor is counted as a COVID-19-related death.
In effect, Wang’s comments on Tuesday simply clarified publicly what the country has been doing throughout the pandemic.
Read more: China reduces COVID-19 case number reporting as virus surges
On Wednesday, China reported no new COVID-19 deaths and in fact subtracted one death from the overall toll, lowering it to 5,241, according to a daily tally issued by the National Health Commission, which did not offer an explanation for the decrease.
The clarification of how China officially records COVID-19 deaths comes as cases have soared across the country amid the loosening of restrictions. Yet the overall count remains blurry, as China has stopped requiring daily PCR tests and many people are testing at home. Anecdotally, many people have fallen ill in cities like Beijing and Shanghai.
Earlier this year, Shanghai was hit by an omicron-driven outbreak. Multiple people told the AP then that their elderly family members who tested positive for COVID-19 and died were not counted in the city's official death toll. When patients had underlying diseases, the deaths were attributed to those.
An AP investigation then showed that numbers have been clouded by the way health authorities tally COVID-19 statistics, applying a much narrower, less transparent and at times shifting standard, as Shanghai changed how it defined positive cases.
Read more: China to drop travel tracing as it relaxes ‘zero COVID’
That narrower criteria has meant China’s COVID-19 death toll will always be significantly lower than those of many other nations.
An Associated Press reporter saw multiple people being wheeled out of funeral homes in Beijing last week, and two relatives told the AP their loved ones had died after testing positive for COVID-19. Last week, however, the country did not report any deaths due to COVID-19.
Different countries count cases and deaths differently, and patchy testing means that direct comparisons are often misleading.
But experts have repeatedly advised that authorities should err on the side of caution while counting deaths. Problems in death counts have raised questions in countries ranging from South Africa to Russia.
The World Health Organization estimated in May that nearly 15 million people died from COVID-19 or due to overwhelmed health systems in the first two years of the pandemic. That is more than the official death toll of over 6 million for that period.
Bangladesh logs 19 more Covid cases
Bangladesh reported 19 more Covid cases in 24 hours till Tuesday morning.
With the new numbers, the country's total caseload rose to 2,036,967, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Read more: Govt starts administering 2nd booster dose of Covid-19 vaccine in Bangladesh
However, the official death toll from the disease remained unchanged at 29,438 as no new fatalities were reported.
The daily case test positivity dropped to 0.75 percent from Monday’s 0.85 percent percent as 2,354 samples were tested during the period.
The mortality rate and the recovery rate remained unchanged at 1.45 percent and at 97.54 percent, respectively.
Read more: Bangladesh built fast response capabilities for influenza, other respiratory infection using lessons learned from Covid-19: WHO
In November, the country reported 10 Covid-linked deaths and 1,345 cases.
Bangladesh registered its highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year and daily fatalities of 264 on August 10 the same year.
Govt starts administering 2nd booster dose of Covid-19 vaccine in Bangladesh
The government started administering the fourth dose (second booster) of Covid-19 vaccine today.
Professor Dr Ahmedul Kabir, additional director general (ADG) of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), inaugurated the campaign at 9:30 am at Kurmitola General Hospital in Dhaka.
The government has taken the initiative to administer a fourth dose against Covid-19 as the antibody from the vaccine doesn't last long, said Ahmedul Kabir.
“Our aim is to vaccinate 80 lakh people in five categories at the moment though four crore people are eligible to receive the fourth dose in the country. Already 460 people have received the fourth dose on a trial basis,” he said.
Read More: 4th dose of Covid vaccine to be administered from Dec 20
The priority will be given to frontline workers and pregnant women, he added.
Dr Shamshul Haque, DGHS director of the vaccine campaign, said 15 crore people got the first dose, 12 crore the second dose, and 6.5 crore the third dose of vaccine against Covid-19.
“Still there are 1.33 lakh doses of vaccine in stock and will bring more after administering those. There are 11.5 crore people aged above 18 years and all will get vaccinated with the second booster dose in phases,” he added.
According to an earlier announcement, the fourth dose will be given at seven centers in the beginning. One hundred people will be vaccinated at each designated centre and they will be kept under observation for two weeks, said the ADG. All citizens having health risks will be vaccinated with the second booster dose from January 1 next year.
Read More: Citizens aged above 60 to get 4th dose of Covid vaccine: Health Minister.
Bangladesh logs 17 more Covid cases
Bangladesh reported 17 more Covid cases in 24 hours till Sunday morning.
With the new numbers, the country's total caseload rose to 2,036,928, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
However, the official death toll from the disease remained unchanged at 29,437 as no new fatalities were reported.
The daily case test positivity dropped to 0.65 percent from Saturday’s 0.83 percent percent as 2,612 samples were tested during the period.
Read more: Bangladesh reports another death from Covid, 14 more cases
The mortality rate remained unchanged at 1.45 percent while the recovery arte increased a bit to 97.54 percent, respectively.
In November, the country reported 10 Covid-linked deaths and 1,345 cases.
Bangladesh registered its highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year and daily fatalities of 264 on August 10 the same year.
COVID-linked deaths seen in Beijing after virus rules eased
Outside a funeral home in eastern Beijing, dozens of people were bundled up in parkas and hats against the freezing temperatures Friday evening as workers in full protective suits wheeled out coffins one by one.
When an employee with a clipboard shouted the name of the dead, a relative trundled up to the coffin to examine the body. One of the relatives told The Associated Press their loved one had been infected with COVID-19.
Deaths linked to the coronavirus are appearing in Beijing after weeks of China reporting no fatalities, even as the country is seeing a surge of cases.
That surge comes as the government last week dramatically eased some of the world’s strictest COVID-19 containment measures. On Wednesday, the government said it would stop reporting asymptomatic COVID-19 cases since they’ve become impossible to track with mass testing no longer required.
That halt in reporting made it unclear how fast the virus is spreading. Social media posts, business closures and other anecdotal evidence suggest huge numbers of infections.
It's also unclear how many people are dying from the virus. An AP reporter who visited the Dongjiao Funeral home was told by relatives that at least two people cremated there had died after testing positive.
Health authorities had designated Dongjiao and one other funeral home to cremate those who die after testing positive, according to a relative of one of the dead. The woman said her elderly relative had fallen ill in early December, tested positive, and died Friday morning in an emergency ward.
She said there were lots of people in the emergency ward who had tested positive for COVID-19, adding that there weren’t enough nurses to take care of them. The woman did not want to be identified for fear of retribution.
Over about an hour, an AP reporter saw about a dozen bodies wheeled from the Dongjiao funeral home.
About a half-dozen people inside described how another victim had struggled to breathe that morning before dying, and the death certificate listed “pneumonia” as the cause of death, even after a positive test for COVID-19, one of those people said. The people interviewed did not want to be identified for fear of retribution.
Read more: China reduces COVID-19 case number reporting as virus surges
Three employees of shops in the complex that houses the funeral home said there had been a marked increase in the number of people going there in recent days. One estimated about 150 bodies were being cremated daily, up from what is normally a few dozen a day.
One employee attributed it to the coronavirus, although another said there are usually more deaths with the arrival of winter. The employees did not want to be identified for fear of retribution.
China has not reported a death from COVID-19 since Dec. 4.
China’s official death toll remains low, with just 5,235 deaths — compared with 1.1 million in the United States. However, public health experts caution that such statistics can’t be directly compared.
Chinese health authorities count only those who died directly from COVID-19, excluding those whose underlying conditions were worsened by the virus. In many other countries, guidelines stipulate that any death where the coronavirus is a factor or contributor is counted as a COVID-19-related death.
Experts say this has been the longstanding practice in China, but questions have been raised at times about whether officials have sought to minimize the figures.
Also on Friday, China’s Cabinet ordered rural areas to prepare for the return of migrant workers this holiday season in hopes of preventing a big surge in COVID-19 cases in communities with limited medical resources.
Returnees must wear masks and avoid contact with elderly people, and village committees must monitor their movements, the guidelines said, but didn't mention the possibility of isolation or quarantines.
There are fears of a surge in cases around China's winter holidays, when tens of millions take to trains, buses and planes for what may be their only trip home all year.
Read more: China students return home amid COVID travel spread fears
The upcoming Lunar New Year falls on Jan. 22, but migrants generally begin heading home two weeks or more in advance. Some Chinese universities say they will allow students to finish the semester from home to help spread out the travel rush and reduce the potential for a bigger outbreak.
Medical resources in smaller cities and rural communities, which are home to about 500 million of China's 1.4 billion people, lag far behind those of large cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. Rural medical infrastructure includes 17,000 county-level hospitals — many of which lack even a single ICU bed — 35,000 township health centers and 599,000 village clinics.
China has been pushing to increase the number of fever clinics in rural areas to treat those with COVID-19 symptoms. Currently, about 19,400 such clinics or consulting rooms operate in communities and townships around the country, state media reported Friday.
By March 2023, about 90% of health centers at the township level will have fever clinics, Nie Chunlei, head of primary health at the National Health Commission, said Thursday.
“This will effectively enhance the capability of primary-level health care institutions to receive patients with fever,” said Nie, who also urged stockpiling of medicines and antigen test kits, many of which have become scarce even in big cities.
The lifting of some travel regulations has spurred both relief and anxiety over the level of COVID-19 preparedness.
Health experts have said China will face a peak of infections in the next month or two and is trying to persuade reluctant seniors and others at risk to get vaccinated.
The changes follow growing frustration with the “zero-COVID" policy blamed for hindering the economy and creating massive social stress. The easing began in November, and accelerated after Beijing and several other cities saw protests over the restrictions that grew into calls for President Xi Jinping and the Communist Party to step down — a level of public dissent not seen in decades.
It's unclear what prompted the government's shift in policy. Experts cite economic pressure, public discontent, and the difficulties of containing the extremely infectious omicron variant as factors.
China wasn't fully prepared for opening up from a public health standpoint, and the decision was driven mainly by economic and social factors, said Zeng Guang, a health expert formerly affiliated with China’s Center for Disease Control, speaking at a conference organized by the state-run Global Times newspaper.
Under the relaxed rules, obligatory testing is no longer required and people with mild symptoms are permitted to recover at home rather than go to a quarantine center. Meanwhile, the semi-autonomous gambling enclave of Macao will scrap its mandatory hotel quarantine for arrivals from Hong Kong, Taiwan and overseas starting Saturday, the government said.
However, travelers must spend five days in home isolation and undergo testing, and are barred from entering mainland China until the 10th day upon arrival. Both Macao and Hong Kong have scrapped most anti-COVID-19 measures.
Bangladesh reports another death from Covid, 14 more cases
Bangladesh logged another death from Covid-19 with 14 more Covid cases in 24 hours till Saturday morning.
With the new numbers, the country's total fatality rose to 29.438 and the caseload to 2,036,911, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The daily case test positivity rose to 0.83 percent from Friday’s 0.67 percent percent as 21,695 samples were tested during the period.
Read more: Bangladesh logs 16 more Covid cases
The mortality remained unchanged at 1.45 percent while the recovery rate slightly increased to 97.54 percent, respectively.
In November, the country reported 10 Covid-linked deaths and 1,345 cases.
Bangladesh registered its highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year and daily fatalities of 264 on August 10 the same year.
Bangladesh logs 15 more Covid cases
Bangladesh reported 15 more Covid cases in 24 hours till Thursday morning.
With the new numbers, the country's total caseload rose to 2,036,881, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
However, the official death toll from the disease remained unchanged at 29,437 as no new fatalities were reported.
The daily case test positivity dropped to 0.44 percent from Wednesday’s 0.78 percent percent as 3,376 samples were tested during the period.
Read more: Bangladesh registers 21 more Covid cases, zero death
The mortality and recovery rates remained unchanged at 1.45 percent and 97.53 percent, respectively.
In November, the country reported 10 Covid-linked deaths and 1,345 cases.
Bangladesh registered its highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year and daily fatalities of 264 on August 10 the same year.
Covid-19: Global cases near 655 million
The overall number of global Covid-19 cases is gradually nearing 655 million.
According to the latest global data, the total case count mounted to 654,792,648 while the death toll from the virus reached 6,661,735 on Wednesday morning.
The US has recorded 101,419,853 cases so far, while 1,110,561 people have died from the virus in the country, both highest counts around the world.
The Chinese mainland on Tuesday reported 2,249 locally transmitted confirmed COVID-19 cases, the National Health Commission said Wednesday.
Read: China students return home amid COVID travel spread fears
Tuesday saw no new deaths from COVID-19, with the total death toll at 5,235.
Meanwhile, India's federal health ministry said on Tuesday the country's daily COVID-19 caseload decreased to 114, with no related death reported during the past 24 hours.
This is the second straight day that no death due to COVID-19 was reported.
South Korea recorded 84,571 new COVID-19 cases as of midnight Tuesday compared to 24 hours ago, raising the total number of infections to 27,925,572, the health authorities said Wednesday.
The daily cases stayed above 80,000 for the second straight day amid rising worries about the resurgence in winter.
Covid in Bangladesh
Bangladesh registered 20 more Covid cases in 24 hours till Tuesday morning.
Read: 4th dose of Covid vaccine to be administered from Dec 20
With the new numbers, the country's total caseload rose to 2,036,845, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
However, the official death toll from the disease remained unchanged at 29,437 as no new fatalities were reported.
Bangladesh registers 20 more Covid cases, zero death
Bangladesh reported 20 more Covid cases in 24 hours till Tuesday morning.
With the new numbers, the country's total caseload rose to 2,036,845, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Read more: China students return home amid COVID travel spread fears
However, the official death toll from the disease remained unchanged at 29,437 as no new fatalities were reported.
The daily case test positivity rose to 0.69 percent from Monday's 0.64 percent as 2,895 samples were tested during the period.
The mortality and recovery rates remained unchanged at 1.45 percent and 97.53 percent, respectively.
Read more: Covid-19: Bangladesh reports another death, 19 cases
In November, the country reported 10 Covid-linked deaths and 1,345 cases.
Bangladesh registered its highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year and daily fatalities of 264 on August 10 the same year.