COVID-19 pandemic
Global Covid deaths near 3.4 million
The global death toll from Covid-19 is approaching 3.4 million, as the race for mass inoculations continues.
More than 3,399,194 people have died so far from the virus, while 163,952,478 cases have been reported worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Some 1,507,598,872 vaccine doses have been administered till Wednesday morning, according to the university.
The US has recorded 587,198 deaths since the pandemic began. Over 32,996,675 people have been found infected with the virus, if Johns Hopkins figures are to be believed.
India’s total virus cases since the pandemic began swept past 25 million on Tuesday. To be specific, the country’s total caseload currently stand at 25, 228,996, as per the data released by the government.
Also read; Global Covid-19 death toll hits 2.7 million
The numbers continue a trend of falling cases after infections dipped below 300,000 for the first time in weeks on Monday. Active cases in the country also decreased by more than 165,000 on Tuesday — the biggest dip in weeks, reports AP.
But deaths have continued to rise and hospitals are still swamped with patients. India has registered 278,719 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
Brazil on Tuesday reported 2,513 more deaths from Covid-19, raising the national count to 439,050, the Ministry of Health said.
The ministry said that 75,445 more infections were detected, raising the nationwide tally to 15,732,836.
According to the ministry, Brazil now has a death rate of 208.9 per 100,000 inhabitants.
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh on Tuesday registered 30 more coronavirus-related deaths in 24 hours, pushing up the total fatalities to 12,211.
Besides, 1,272 new cases were detected during the period after testing 16,855 samples, the Directorate General of Health Services said in a handout.
Read: Vaccine production in Bangladesh: Experts 'vehemently against private sector’s engagement'
The daily infection rate rose to 7.55 percent on Tuesday from Monday’s 6.75 percent.
With the new cases, the total caseload reached 7,28,129 while the total number of recoveries stood at 7,24,209, including 1,115 in the past 24 hours.
Vaccination drive
Bangladesh launched its vaccination drive on February 7 with Oxford-AstraZeneca doses purchased from India's Serum Institute.
The government signed an agreement with Serum for 30 million doses. But a record number of cases in India has now made the delivery of the doses uncertain.
In fact, the country, the prime recipient of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, has suspended the registration for Covid-19 jabs due to vaccine shortage amid a delay in the timely arrival of shipments from India.
In the past 24 hours, no one has received the first dose of the vaccine, while 64,377 have received the second dose, said the health directorate.
Bangladesh to get 106,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine on June 2: Health Ministry
Bangladesh will receive a minimum of 1,06,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine by June 2, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said Tuesday.
The doses will be sent to Bangladesh under the COVAX scheme which is co-led by Gavi, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO), said Maidul Islam, the public relation officer of the ministry.
Also read: Bangladesh seeks at least 2 mln doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from Canada
The Pfizer BioNTech vaccine has an efficacy of 95% against symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection.
However, preliminary laboratory studies of the mRNA vaccines by Pfizer and Moderna have shown decreased effectiveness against the double mutant variants discovered in India, WHO said in a note.
Read: Vaccine production in Bangladesh: Experts 'vehemently against private sector’s engagement'
249 lives lost on the road during Eid holidays
The number of deaths in road crashes during the Eid holiday rush increased during the just concluded Eid ul Fitr, despite a ban on inter-district bus operations due to the Covid-19 pandemic, two civic bodies said Tuesday.
At least 249 people were killed and 385 others were injured in 207 road crashes over the 12 days till Monday, as people rushed to travel home and come back to Dhaka, according to a report jointly prepared by Green Club of Bangladesh (GCB) and National Committee to Protect Shipping, Roads and Railways.
The report covers the period between May 6 and May 17.
The report also stated that among the deceased, 35 were women, 29 children, 23 pedestrians and 27 transport workers, including drivers.
Also read: Rab member, another killed in Gazipur road accident
Both accidents and deaths increased during this Eid-ul Fitr's holidays from the last Eid-ul Azha, the report observed.
Bangladesh seeks at least 2 mln doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from Canada
Bangladesh has sought at least 2 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine from Canada on an emergency basis to meet the emergency need of 1.6 million doses of the vaccine to provide second doses.
"This is at present a high priority for Bangladesh," said Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen during his meeting with Canadian High Commissioner to Bangladesh Benoit Préfontaine on Tuesday.
Referring to recent statement of Canadian Procurement Minister Anita Anand that Canadian Government might distribute excess stockpiles of AstraZeneca vaccine among developing countries, Dr Momen urged the Canadian High Commissioner to pursue his Government so that Bangladesh receives AstraZeneca vaccine from Canada.
He also underscored that such supply of vaccine should be directly sent to Bangladesh, as has been done for some other countries like Pakistan, rather than through the COVAX programme of the World Health Organization (WHO).
The main point of discussion was on the possibility of receiving AstraZeneca vaccine from Canada to meet up immediate second dose vaccine requirements in Bangladesh.
Dr Momen said Bangladesh acted fast on collecting vaccine by concluding the agreement with the Serum Institute in India to procure 30 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccine and is now in a difficult situation as only 10.2 million doses of vaccine has been received from India.
He said the prospect of getting more is low due to the ongoing massive COVID-19 outbreak in India.
Dr Momen also proposed that Canada may help vaccinating forcibly displaced Rohingyas in Bangladesh separately.
Foreign Minister Momen also apprised the Canadian High Commissioner of the Government’s efforts to acquire vaccine from some other countries including China, Russia and the US.
The Canadian High Commissioner assured that he will follow up with his government about Bangladesh’s request to provide 2 million doses of vaccine immediately, which is also being followed up with the Canadian Government by Bangladesh High Commission in Ottawa.
The Bangladesh Foreign Minister also thanked Canada for its continued strong political and humanitarian support for the Rohingya crisis, underscoring that sustainable return of the Rohingyas to Myanmar is the solution.
He also reiterated Bangladesh’s expectation that Canada would extend Duty Free Quota Free (DFQF) access to Bangladeshi export products till 2027, and also would commence negotiating a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) or Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) with Bangladesh soon.
Dr Momen reiterated Bangladesh’s strong expectation that Nur Chowdhury, the convicted killer of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, would be returned back to Bangladesh in near future.
High Commissioner Préfontaine stated that Canada would continue its humanitarian support for displaced Rohingyas and host communities at the same scale for next three years, as was reflected in their budgetary framework for next three years.
He also underscored that Canada is willing to enhance its economic cooperation with Bangladesh, including in areas of trade and investment.
Long working hours increase deaths from heart disease, stroke: WHO, ILO
Long working hours led to 745 000 deaths from stroke and ischemic heart disease in 2016, a 29 per cent increase since 2000, say the latest estimates on Monday (May 17, 2021).
The latest estimates by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labour Organization (ILO) were published in Environment International on Monday.
In a first global analysis of the loss of life and health associated with working long hours, WHO and ILO estimate that, in 2016, 398 000 people died from stroke and 347 000 from heart disease as a result of having worked at least 55 hours a week.
Read Create more overseas jobs for female workers: Speakers
Between 2000 and 2016, the number of deaths from heart disease due to working long hours increased by 42%, and from stroke by 19%.
This work-related disease burden is particularly significant in men (72% of deaths occurred among males), people living in the Western Pacific and South-East Asia regions, and middle-aged or older workers.
Most of the deaths recorded were among people dying aged 60-79 years, who had worked for 55 hours or more per week between the ages of 45 and 74 years.
Read: Indian COVID variant: Why is it more deadly? How is it affecting the neighboring countries?
With working long hours now known to be responsible for about one-third of the total estimated work-related burden of disease, it is established as the risk factor with the largest occupational disease burden.
This shifts thinking towards a relatively new and more psychosocial occupational risk factor to human health.
The study concludes that working 55 or more hours per week is associated with an estimated 35% higher risk of a stroke and a 17% higher risk of dying from ischemic heart disease, compared to working 35-40 hours a week.
Read: What does it feel like to get COVID-19 after taking the vaccine?
Further, the number of people working long hours is increasing, and currently stands at 9% of the total population globally.
This trend puts even more people at risk of work-related disability and early death.
The new analysis comes as the COVID-19 pandemic shines a spotlight on managing working hours; the pandemic is accelerating developments that could feed the trend towards increased working time.
Read Uncertain, uneven recovery likely amid unprecedented labour market crisis: ILO
“The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly changed the way many people work,“ said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
He said teleworking has become the norm in many industries, often blurring the boundaries between home and work.
In addition, he said many businesses have been forced to scale back or shut down operations to save money, and people who are still on the payroll end up working longer hours.
Read Homeworkers need to be better protected, says ILO
"No job is worth the risk of stroke or heart disease. Governments, employers and workers need to work together to agree on limits to protect the health of workers," said the WHO DG.
“Working 55 hours or more per week is a serious health hazard,” added Dr Maria Neira, Director, Department of Environment, Climate Change and Health, at the World Health Organization.
“It’s time that we all, governments, employers, and employees wake up to the fact that long working hours can lead to premature death”.
Read Safe Lifestyle in COVID-19 Lockdown: Do's, Don'ts, and Precautions
The WHO and ILO said Governments, employers and workers can take the following actions to protect workers’ health:
Governments can introduce, implement and enforce laws, regulations and policies that ban mandatory overtime and ensure maximum limits on working time; bipartite or collective bargaining agreements between employers and workers’ associations can arrange working time to be more flexible, while at the same time agreeing on a maximum number of working hours; and employees could share working hours to ensure that numbers of hours worked do not climb above 55 or more per week.
Read 81 million jobs lost as COVID-19 creates turmoil in Asia Pacific labour markets: ILO
Two systematic reviews and meta-analyses of the latest evidence were conducted for this study.
Data from 37 studies on ischemic heart disease covering more than 768 000 participants and 22 studies on stroke covering more than 839 000 participants were synthesized.
The study covered global, regional and national levels, and was based on data from more than 2300 surveys collected in 154 countries from 1970-2018.
Read ILO advocates better policies to protect workers & biz in the digital economy
Nearly half of global population still lack internet access: UN Chief
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated digital transformation across the planet, millions worldwide still lack Internet access, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said on Monday.
In his message for World Telecommunication and Information Science Day, celebrated annually on 17 May, the UN chief called for action to conquer both the pandemic and the digital divide, reports UN News.
“On World Telecommunication and Information Society Day, let us commit to work together to defeat COVID-19 and ensure that digital technologies are a force for good that help us to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and leave no one behind,” he said.
Innovative and protective
“Digital technologies sustain life, work, health and learning for billions of people. In the face of COVID-19, businesses, governments and the digital community have proven resilient and innovative, helping to protect lives and livelihoods. These challenging times have accelerated the transformation everywhere,” he said.
However, the Secretary-General reported some 3.7 billion people, or nearly half the world’s population, remain unconnected to the Internet. Most are women.
“They, too, must be included if we are to make the possibilities of 5G, artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, digital health and other technologies truly transformative and sustainable,” he said.
“We must also protect against the dangers of digital technologies, from the spread of hatred and misinformation to cyberattacks and the exploitation of our data.”
Read Also: 54pc Bangladeshi rural families lack internet access: Survey
Encouraging investment
World Telecommunication and Information Science Day marks the signing in 1865 of an agreement to form the International Telegraph Union (ITU), making it the world’s first modern international organization.
ITU Secretary-General Houlin Zhao said the UN agency will use the Day to unite the world in pursuit of digital transformation in all areas of business and life.
“It will be an opportunity to strengthen national strategies on ICT development, implement smart policies and effective measures to encourage investments in ICTs and digital skills, and upgrade our services with new technologies ranging from AI (Artificial Intelligence) to 5G that are central to the digital economy,” he said in a video message.
Inclusive and affordable for all
Last June, the UN launched a Roadmap for Digital Cooperation that lays out eight key actions, including achieving universal connectivity by 2030.
Also read: 100mn rural people to get high-speed internet access within 2020
Guterres, the UN Secretary-General, said the Roadmap, together with the vital work of the ITU, aims to make the digital transformation equitable, safe, inclusive and affordable for all, while also respecting human rights.
Indonesia suspends AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine batch after death
The Indonesian government said Sunday (May 16, 2021) it has suspended the distribution and use of a batch of AstraZeneca Plc's coronavirus vaccine following the death of a 22-year-old man a day after his inoculation with the vaccine.
The Ministry of Health called the suspension "a prudent effort by the government to ensure the safety of the vaccine," and said it plans to continue to use other batches of the vaccine it has received.
Also read: Denmark stops AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine rollout
The results of sterility and toxicity tests by the Drug and Food Monitoring Agency are expected to come out within one to two weeks.
The batch in question, consisting of about 450,000 doses, arrived last month. It is part of the 3,852,000 AstraZeneca doses that Indonesia has received through the World Health Organization-backed COVAX facility.
Also read: Governments give varying advice on AstraZeneca vaccine
COVAX is an international vaccine distribution platform set up to ensure equitable access to shots for developing countries.
Local media reported that the man received a jab from the batch in the capital Jakarta on May 5 and died the next day. The batch had been distributed to Jakarta and North Sulawesi Province in central Indonesia, as well as to the military, according to the ministry.
Also read: EU agency: Rare clots possibly linked to AstraZeneca shot
Indonesia has fully inoculated almost 9 million of its 187 million eligible citizens under a nationwide vaccination drive that started in mid-January.
Britain yet to decide on Pfizer offer to vaccinate Olympians
The British government is still deciding whether to accept an offer from Pfizer to fast-track Olympic and Paralympic athletes for coronavirus vaccines.
Jabs are only being given to Britons aged 38 or older - though this will be extended to those over 35 from next week - with younger people only getting inoculated if they have an underlying health condition.
It s sensitive because the philosophy has been based on age and that s been proved to be the right thing, British Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston said. The biggest indicator is age is the biggest factor and of course Pfizer have offered for the Olympics and we ve asked them about that.
Pfizer, which developed a vaccine with BioNTech, said earlier this month said that it would donate doses to inoculate athletes and officials preparing for the Tokyo games with the rescheduled Olympics due to open on July 23.
While the Olympics begin in less than 10 weeks, Britain has a policy of delaying the second dose by up to 12 weeks to free up vaccines for more people. Britain announced Sunday that more than 20 million people have now received both doses. The two shots of the Pfizer vaccines were intended to be given three to four weeks apart.
The government s vaccine rollout has been excellent and, coupled with the IOC s donation of the Pfizer vaccine for athletes, means we are hopeful of getting all athletes vaccinated before they travel to Tokyo, British Olympic Association chairman Hugh Robertson said. It is important for this to happen soon, to assure our hosts in Tokyo that we are doing all we can to keep their population safe.
Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and Spain are among the European nations to have already offered vaccines to delegations headed to Tokyo.
Japan has been struggling to slow infections ahead of the games and expanded a coronavirus state of emergency from six areas, including Tokyo, to nine on Friday.
3 India returnee students test Covid positive
Three Bangladeshi students, who returned home from India through the Burimari land port, have tested positive for coronavirus.
Lalmonirhat Civil Surgeon Dr Nirmalendu Roy on Sunday said samples collected from the students would be sent to Dhaka for tests to find out if they had been infected by the Indian variant.
The students have been kept in institutional quarantine under the supervision of the district administration at a hotel in Burimari.
Also read: Bangladesh sees only 363 new Covid cases as sample testing falls amid Eid
Patgram Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Saifur Rahman said the students are doing well.
“Their samples will soon be sent to IEDCR for testing,” he said.
Bangladesh has kept all its borders with India shut since April 26 as the neighbouring country grapples with the new variant of the virus that has infected millions and claimed thousands of lives.
Also read: Bangladesh extends lockdown until May 23
Many Bangladeshi students and patients got stuck in India during the border closure. But they are being allowed to return home with the approval of the authorities concerned and on condition of undergoing mandatory quarantine after entering the country.
Until Sunday afternoon, 202 people returned through the Burimari land port.
Of the returnees, 83 are currently staying in quarantine at five residential hotels and 101 are in Lalmonirhat Sadar Hospital.
Also read: DGHS urges holidaymakers to return to Dhaka after 14 days
Thirty-five of them were released by the upazila administration after they tested negative for the virus.
'Sadaqa can be Islamic response to pandemic'
Helping others is recommended and rewarded in Islam and even more so during times of need, Standard Chartered Saadiq's Shariah Supervisory Committee member Dr. Aznan Hasan said while explaining how aspects of faith such as Sadaqa can be an Islamic answer to the pandemic.
Dr Aznan, from Malaysia, was addressing the webinar "Understanding how Sadaqa can be an Islamic response to the pandemic," recently hosted by Standard Chartered Bangladesh.
Read 7 lakh bKash customers donate Tk20 crore to 50 organisations
Naser Ezaz Bijoy, CEO of Standard Chartered Bangladesh, said: "It is our privilege to introduce a new product in the Saadiq line: the 'Saadiq Sadaqa Account' which is a first in the market."
"Sadaqa aims to support various local charitable causes such as female well-being, education for underprivileged children, climate change and health care."
Read Trump lawyer blurs lines between charity and profit
"Clients will be able to select the charity of their choice at the time of opening a deposit account with Standard Chartered. The profit earned from that account will go to the pre-assigned charity organisation in compliance with Shariah principles," Naser said.