Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS)
Lockdown in two Natore municipal areas extended by a week
Authorities have extended the ongoing lockdown in the Natore and Singra municipal areas of Natore district by one more week to stem the spread of Covid-19.
A sudden surge in the infection rate, from 20 per cent to a whopping 60 per cent, in recent days, forced the district administration to extend the lockdown in the two municipal areas.
Read:14-day lockdown in Damurhuda to contain Covid spread
The lockdown will remain in force till June 22, said deputy commissioner Mohammad Shahriaz.
Earlier, on June 8, the authorities decided to enforce a week-long lockdown in the two municipal areas from June 9 to contain the spread of Covid-19.
During the lockdown, all modes of public transport will stay off the roads. However, the movement restrictions won't apply on vehicles providing emergency services.
Read: Indefinite lockdown in Magura city and Mohammadpur Upazila from Sunday
Moreover, all shops, markets and restaurants will remain closed, except for grocery stores and pharmacies. This is to allow people to buy their daily essentials and medicines from their local grocers and chemists, respectively.
Amid a desperate bid to procure vaccines for all, Bangladesh on Monday reported 54 fresh coronavirus-related deaths and 3,050 new cases in 24 hours -- both record figures in a month.
Read: Week-long lockdown in Kushtia municipality areas to contain Covid spread
The country last recorded 56 deaths on May 9 and a record 3,031 cases on April 27.
With the new numbers, the country's total caseload and deaths have now reached 8,29,972 and 13,172, respectively, according to the Directorate General of Health Services.
Advanced Covid clinical management course launched for doctors
A web-based advanced Covid-19 clinical management course has been launched for Bangladeshi doctors considering the Covid-19 situation.
Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Monday night launched the course, developed by Brown University, USA, based on their internationally renowned course curricula.
The course is aligned with Bangladesh’s national case management and critical care guidelines, and was reviewed and endorsed by a working group of national experts under the leadership of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Read:Pfizer, Sinopharm shots to start June 19: Health Minister
This free self-learning, pre-recorded course with videos and interactive modules is meant for doctors in Bangladesh who are involved in Covid-19 clinical case management.
It is developed with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the US government’s leading development agency.
Zahid Maleque thanked everyone involved in the development of this online course.
“In recent days, we’re witnessing an escalation of Covid-19 cases. To address this, and as part of our preparedness, this collaborative training course will help all government and private physicians working at the sub-district, district, and tertiary level hospitals to have the best evidence-based clinical knowledge on Covid-19 in Bangladesh," he said.
18 dengue patients undergoing treatment at Dhaka hospitals: DGHS
Eighteen dengue patients are receiving treatment at different hospitals in Dhaka until Thursday morning as the number of the mosquito- borne disease started to rise in the country.
Five new cases of dengue have been reported in the past 24 hours, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said in a media release.
Read: How to protect yourself and your family from Dengue fever
A total of 129 patients have been admitted to different hospitals with dengue since January and of them, 111, patients recovered.
Health authorities reported 1,193 dengue cases and three confirmed dengue-related deaths in 2020..
Reports of six dengue-related deaths have been sent to the IEDCR, which has so far reviewed four cases.
According to official figures, 101,354 dengue cases and 179 deaths were recorded in Bangladesh in 2019.
Read: Dengue: Bangladesh sees significant improvement
Dengue fever was first reported in Bangladesh in 2000 and it claimed 93 lives. In three years, the fatality number almost fell to zero.
However, the mosquito-borne viral infection struck again in 2018, killing 26, and infecting 10,148 people.
Covid-19: Bangladesh logs 30 more deaths, 1,687 new infections
As Bangladesh continues to fight against the Coronavirus pandemic with rising infections in frontier districts, it recorded 30 more deaths in the last 24 hours until Thursday morning, raising the death toll to 12,724.
Besides, health authorities detected 1,687 new cases after testing 16,982 samples during the period.
With the new cases, the total caseload rose to 8,05,980, said a handout of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Read:COVAX Facility: Japan to provide 30mn vaccine doses to other countries
The daily infection rate rose to 9.94 percent from Wednesday’s 9.81 percent while the mortality rate remained static at 1.58 percent.
The handout said 7,46,035 patients have recovered so far, including 1970 in the last 24 hours.
Rajshahi division witnessed the highest number of deaths during the period with eight while six each died in Dhaka and Chattorgram divisions, four in Rangpur and three in Khulna divisions, two in Sylhet and one in Barishal divisions.
Bangladesh reported its first coronavirus cases on March 8 last year and the first death on the 18th of that month.
Lockdown in districts
Due to the recent rise in Covid infections in the bordering districts, district administrations have imposed lockdowns in Rajshahi, Khulna, Satkhira and parts of Naogaon districts to stem the transmission of the deadly virus.
Read:Thakurgaon seals border areas to contain Covid
District administrations have been given the authority to enforce lockdowns in their areas if the Covid-19 situation deteriorates there.
Vaccination drive
Bangladesh launched its vaccination drive on February 7 with Oxford-AstraZeneca doses bought from India's Serum Institute.
The administration of the first dose of the vaccine has remained suspended since April 26.
Also, the country, the prime recipient of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines, has suspended the registration for Covid-19 jabs due to vaccine shortage amid a delay in the arrival of shipments from India.
Read:Bangladesh’s frontier districts brace for Covid ‘catastrophe’: Experts
However, recently two other vaccines, Russia's Sputnik V and China's Sinopharm, got approval from the Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) for emergency use in Bangladesh.
The administering of the first doses of the Sinopharm vaccine started on Tuesday.
Bangladesh has also received 1 lakh-plus Pfizer vaccine.
Covid positivity rate rises in Bangladesh, 34 more die
Bangladesh recorded 34 more coronavirus-related deaths and some 2,000 new cases as the country continues to grapple with the pandemic situation.
Health authorities detected 1,988 new cases after testing 20,259 samples during the period. The number of sample tests has increased over the past one week.
With the new cases, the total caseload rose to 8,04,293, said a handout of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Read: WHO validates Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use
The new deaths pushed up the death toll to 12,694.
The daily infection rate increased to 9.81 percent from Tuesday’s 9.47 percent, while the mortality rate remained static at 1.58 percent.
The country has so far tested 59,86,022 samples.
Read:India to start trials on safety, efficacy of mixing Covid vaccine doses
Among the deceased, 11 died in Dhaka division while five each in Khulna, Chattogram and Rajshahi divisions, 3 each in Sylhet and Rangpur and one in Barishal division.
Bangladesh reported its first Coronavirus cases on March 8 last year and the first death on the 18th of that month.
Schools, colleges to reopen on June 13: Dipu Moni
The government has decided to reopen educational institutions, particularly primary, secondary and higher secondary ones, in Bangladesh on June 13 if the Covid-19 situation does not deteriorate.
“We’ve decided to reopen all the educational institutions -- primary, secondary and higher secondary ones -- on June 13. We expect the situation to be much more favourable by the time,” said Education Minister Dr Dipu Moni at a virtual press conference on Wednesday.
About reopening universities, the Education Minister said the decision will be taken in consultation with the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the university authorities.
Read: Educational institutions must abide by constitution, law: HC
The minister, however, said reopening of public universities depends on vaccination among their resident students, teachers and staff.
“The reopening of universities may slightly depend on vaccination,” she said, adding that the government will soon start vaccination among resident students, teachers, officers and employees of universities on a priority basis.
Initially, the institutions will remain open for six days a week for the class-V students as well as SSC and HSC candidates of 2021 and 2022, while for one day for the students of other classes. The number of classroom lectures will increase gradually for the students of other classes, she said.
The government has already taken preparations so that the SSC and HSC examinees for 2021 can sit for their examinations attending the classes for 60 days and 84 days respectively. And their syllabuses were shortened accordingly. The examinations will begin at least two weeks after the classes, the minister added.
Read Schools, colleges likely to remain closed until Eid: Dipu
The periods for in-person classes will be 150 days and 180 days for SSC and HSC candidates of 2022. The syllabuses for the examinees of 2022 have also been shortened.
Dipu Moni urged all to follow the health guidelines and thus help the government create a favourable environment for reopening the educational institutions.
“On one hand, we ask for reopening educational institutions and increase the (Covid-19) infection rate on the other hand by not following the health guidelines. These two things can't go together,” she said.
The minister said the online and television-based teaching and assignment-based academic activity are going on amid the ongoing closure of educational institutions.
Read Japan's role key to Bangladesh's further development: Dipu Moni
She said the Covid-19 infection rate has risen slightly due to the recent mass exodus during the Eid holidays.
“The infection rate has risen suddenly in some districts. Keeping such issues in mind, we’re extending the closure of our educational institutions until June 12. We hope the situation will improve by the time, and then we can reopen the institutions,” she said.
The minister, however, said the government will reopen the educational institutions on the basis of adequate data and favourable opinions.
She said the government takes its decision following discussions with the National Technical Advisory Committee on Covid-19. “We’ll take the decision (on reopening the educational institutions) based on discussions with them this time, too,” she added.
Read: Assess situation before reopening educational institutions: PM
According to expert views, if the Covid-19 infection rate remains within 5 percent, it will create a favourable situation to reopen educational institutions, Dipu Moni added.
In reply to a question about the JSC examinations, the minister said if the situation remains conducive, the government will hold examinations, or else, those would be assignment-based ones.
She said the government has collected data of the dropped-out students and now those are being analysed. “So, we’ll soon get a complete report on it (dropout),” she added.
Replying to another question, Dr Dipu Moni said there is a slim chance to give auto-pass to the SSC and HSC candidates of 2021 unlike the HSC candidates of 2020.
Read Students protest, demand re-opening of their institutions
She said the HSC candidates of 2020 had joined the classes for full two years, sat for pre-tests and taken all-out preparations for the examinations, but the exams were postponed just a few days ago.
This time, she said, the SSC and HSC candidates could not attend their normal classes throughout last year. “So, the scope to give them an auto-pass is very thin.”
Speaking at the press conference, State Minister for Primary and Mass Education Md Zakir Hossain said the primary schools will also be reopened on June 13 next. “It won’t be a bad decision if we reopen the schools making sure that health rules are followed,” he said.
Initially, the schools will remain open for six days a week for the class-V students, while one day for class-I to class-IV students, said the state minister.
The government shut the educational institutions on March 17, 2020 after the country reported its first Covid-19 cases on March 8. Then the closure was extended several times, most recently until May 29, 2021.
Read:Bangladesh braces for worst Covid outbreak by June-end: Experts
Covid situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh witnessed a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases and fatalities as it recorded 40 more deaths and 1,675 cases in 24 hours until Tuesday morning.
The Covid positivity rate rose to 10.08 percent again during the period after remaining below 10 percent since May 15. The country had been seeing below 40 deaths since May 13.
Health authorities registered 1,675 new cases after testing 16,624 samples during the 24-hour period.
Besides, the mortality rate remained static at 1.57 percent, said a handout of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Read Prof Mahmood Hossain new Vice-Chancellor of Khulna University
Covid-19 in Bangladesh: Positivity rate crosses 10 pc again; 40 more die
Bangladesh witnessed a sharp rise in Covid-19 cases and fatalities as it recorded 40 more deaths and 1675 cases in 24 hours until Tuesday morning.
The Covid positivity rate rose to 10.08 percent again during the period after maintaining it below 10 percent since May 15.
Read: Bangladesh reports two ‘black fungus’ cases, one suspected death
The country had been seeing below 40 deaths since May13.
Health authorities registered 1,675 new cases after testing 16,624 samples during the 24-hour period.
Besides, the mortality rate remained static at 1.57 percent, said a handout of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
With the latest figures, the total caseload reached 7,92,196 and the death tally climbed to 12,441.
Bangladesh’s recovery rate now stands at 92.50% with 1,279 recoveries during the period.
As of now, 7,32,810 people have recovered from the disease.
Eighteen of the 40 deaths recorded today were from Chattogram division while from Dhaka division. Four died in Rajshahi, three each in Khulna, Barishal, Rangpur and one in Sylhet divisions.
Bangladesh so far carried out 58,54,919 sample tests since reporting its first coronavirus cases on March 8 last year and the first death on March 18, 2020.
Worst coming in June-end
With Covid cases keep soaring in frontier districts apparently because of the highly contagious Indian variant, experts fear that Bangladesh may face the worst outbreak of the deadly virus at the end of June next.
They said if the B.1.617, known as the Indian variant, can make its way into other areas from the bordering districts, Bangladesh is likely to witness more than 20,000 cases a day in early July, raising the fatality rate sharply.
Lack of necessary oxygen supply and other healthcare facilities may aggravate the situation, according to the experts.
Terrifying scenario along border
Though the country’s average Covid positivity rate was below 10 percent till Monday, it was very high in different districts along the Indian border.
Chapainawabganj was the worst-hit district with 55 percent infection rate, forcing the local administration to enforce a 7-day strict lockdown from today.
Besides, the positivity rate was over 40 percent in Rajshahi.
The infection rate was also high in some other frontier districts like Satkhira, Jashore, Jhenaidah, Dinajpur, Meherpur, Chuadanga, Sylhet and Moulvibazar.
Talking to UNB, DGHS spokesman Robed Amin said, Covid patients with Indian variants were found in bordering districts, including Chapianwabganj, Rajshahi and Jashore. “It’s alarming news. As this variant spreads fast, the infection rate may continue to surge seriously, if people show apathy to masking up and abiding by health safety rules.
Vaccination
Bangladesh launched its vaccination drive on February 7 with Oxford-AstraZeneca doses purchased from India's Serum Institute.
The administration of the first dose has remained suspended since April 26.
Also, the country, the prime recipient of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines, has suspended the registration for Covid-19 jabs due to vaccine shortage amid a delay in the timely arrival of shipments from India.
However, the administering of the 1st dose of Chinese Sinopharm vaccine against Covid-19 began in Bangladesh on Tuesday.
Covid-19: Bangladesh logs 28 more deaths, 1,354 new cases
As Bangladesh battles with the Covid-19 pandemic, its health authorities recorded 28 more deaths and 1,354 cases in 24 hours until Sunday morning.
The infection rate rose to 8.90 percent from Saturday’s 8.41 percent while the mortality rate stood at 1.57 percent, said a handout issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Read:17 India returnees test positive for Covid-19
The new cases of infections were recorded after testing 15,205 samples.
With the fresh deaths during the period, the coronavirus fatalities rose to 12,376 in the country.
The total caseload now stands at 7,89,080 with the new ones, the handout added.
Lockdown extended
The government has extended the ongoing lockdown by another week until May 30 allowing public buses to run at half of their capacities considering the current coronavirus situation in the country.
The Cabinet Division issued a circular in this regard on Sunday.
All concerned, including passengers, will have to maintain health protocols like wearing masks, says the circular.
Read: Bangladesh extends lockdown until May 30
Besides, hotels and restaurants will be allowed to keep open with half of half of their capacities.
The authorities concerned have been asked to take necessary steps in this regard.
As coronavirus cases kept on growing at an alarming rate since mid-March, the government had imposed a ‘loose’ nationwide lockdown for one week from April 5 as part of its move to contain its spread.
Later, a ‘stricter’ lockdown was announced from April 14 to 21. Then the lockdown was extended several times considering the situation.
Train services set to resume
Twenty-eight pairs of trains will run from Monday across the country following the suspension of the services for over a month as part of the government restrictions on people’s movement to stem the coronavirus transmission.
Read:Train services to resume at half capacity from Monday
The authorities concerned have been asked to keep half of the train seat vacant for ensuring a physical distance, said an official release issued by the Ministry of Railways on Sunday.
Passengers can purchase train tickets online, the release added.
Global Covid cases approach 165 million
The Covid-19 situation is worsening around the world with each passing the day, despite mass vaccinations. In fact, the total global corona caseload is fast approaching 165 million.
The total cases and fatalities reached 164,610,815 and 3, 412,920, respectively, on Thursday morning, as per the latest data released by Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
So far, some 1,535,026, 536 vaccine doses have been administered around the world, according to the university.
The Covid-19 cases in the US, the worst-hit country in the world, exceeded 33 million on Thursday. The total caseload and deaths in the country now stand at 32,026,131 and 587,858, respectively, as per JHU.
Read: India’s Covid-19 hot spots on recovery road
India has been experiencing a precarious situation of handling the Covid-19 situation as the country has registered 25,496,330 cases with 283,248 deaths to date.
Brazil has the world's second-highest Covid-19 death toll, after the United States, and the third-largest caseload, following the United States and India.
The country has logged 15,812,055 cases and 441,691 deaths, as of Thursday.
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh on Wednesday reported 37 Covid-19 deaths in 24 hours, taking the national count to 12,248. The mortality rate though remains static at 1.56%.
Besides, the country saw 1,608 new cases as 20,538 samples were tested during the 24-hour period, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said.
Read: icddr,b donates essential medical supplies to DMCH for treating critically ill COVID patients
The infection rate rose to 7.83% from Tuesday’s 7.55%.
Vaccination drive
In the past 24 hours, not a single citizen in the country received the first dose of the vaccine. However, 64,377 people received the second dose during the period.
The administering of the first dose has remained suspended since April 26. Also, the country, the prime recipient of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, has suspended the registration for Covid-19 jabs due to an acute shortage of the same amid a delay in the timely arrival of shipments from India.
Read:Govt approves proposal to import Sinofarm vaccine
Bangladesh launched its vaccination drive on February 7 with Oxford-AstraZeneca doses acquired from India's Serum Institute.
'Over 58k tested for Covid at SUST lab in one year'
As many as 58,541 Covid-19 tests have been carried out at the Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) in the past one year. Of the suspected patients, 9,527 have tested positive.
Sources told UNB that the university has been getting samples of suspected Covid patients from hospitals and clinics across the four upazilas of the district and Sylhet city since it set up a specialised laboratory in May last year. "We also get samples of overseas returnees in Sylhet," sources said.
Researchers at the laboratory have also unvieled the genome sequence of Covid-19 after collecting samples from four districts of Sylhet division.
Last year only, they submitted 10 genome sequence to the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Database (GISAID), which was published on December 31.
Read: SUST team's genomic data on Sylhet Coronavirus strains published by GISAID
Prof Dr Mohammad Shamsul Haque Prodhan, Head of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Department, said, “Like many developing countries, we are proud of providing necessary health services to the people of Sylhet. Our big achievement is ‘confidence and reliability’ and we assure hundred percent transparency. Till now, no faulty results have been published and the team is working relentlessly and even during holidays like Eid."
Prof Farid Uddin Ahmed, vice-chancellor of SUST, said, “The SUST laboratory is a reliable place for people of the north-eastern region. Those who work at the laboratory are dedicated researchers."
On May 18 last year, the specialised laboratory for detecting Covid-19 was inaugurated at the Shahjalal University of Science and Technology (SUST) under the Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology for providing health assistance to the people of the division.
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen had inaugurated the laboratory virtually.
The government had earlier asked education authorities to set up RT-PCR test facilities at SUST, Dhaka University, Jashore University of Science and Technology, Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University.
Situation in Bangladesh
Covid-19 claimed 32 more lives in Bangladesh in the past 24 hours till Monday morning, raising the number of fatalities to 12,181.
Read: Covid-19 claims 32 more lives in Bangladesh, new cases 698
Besides, health authorities found 698 more people corona positive over the same period after testing 10,347 samples.
With the latest figure, the total number of positive cases in the country has now climbed to 780,857, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).