Amid rapid surge in Covid-19 cases in Bangladesh, 39 new deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours until Saturday, the highest single-day death toll in the past 3 months.

According to the latest figures provided by the country’s health authorities, 3,674 more people got infected during the period, pushing up the total caseload to 5, 91,860.

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The latest figures have pushed the Covid-19 fatalities to 8,869 according to the handout by Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

The infection rate jumped to 14.90 percent on Saturday from 13.69 percent a day earlier.

However the death rate stands at 1.5 percent, said the handout.

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So far, 533,922 patients (90.22 percent) have recovered, including 1,971 in the last 24 hours, according to DGHS.

Bangladesh reported its first cases on March 8, 2020 and the first death on March 18 the same year.

Health authorities have so far tested 4,566,694 samples, including 24,664 in the past 24 hours.

Amid spike in infections, the government has taken a tougher stance to fight Covid-19 transmission.

The Health Ministry sent letters to districts, directing the officials concerned to impose fines on people flouting Covid protocols.

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The country launched a countrywide vaccination drive on Feb 7. As the daily infection rate keeps rising, the government extended the closure of school and colleges until May 23.