Amid rise in Covid -19 infections in Bangladesh, health authorities on Friday reported 1,884 new cases in 24 hours, pushing the country’s total tally to 487,849.

Besides, 12 more people died from the disease during the period, raising the death toll to 6,986.

The mortality rate, however, is still at 1.43 percent, said the Directorate General of Health Services.

So far, 414,318 patients – 84.93 percent -- including 3,866 new ones in the last 24 hours have recovered.

Bangladesh reported its first cases on March 8. The infection number reached the 300,000-mark on August 26. The first death was reported on March 18 and the death toll exceeded 6,000 on November 4.

Until now, 2,944,252 tests have been carried out, including 16,323 new ones, and 16.57 percent of the patients turned out to be positive.

Bangladesh is seeing 2864.54 infections, 2432.78 recoveries, and 41.02 deaths per million.

 

Global Situation

A total of 69.5 million people have been infected with coronavirus globally and over 1.5 million of them died, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
 
The global caseload stood at 69,598,462 with 1,581,902 fatalities on Friday.
 
The United States recorded 15,616,380 cases as of Friday morning with 292,179 deaths.
 
The total number of Covid-19 cases in the US topped 15 million on Tuesday.

Also read:Can I stop wearing a mask after getting a COVID-19 vaccine?

Just when the U.S. appears on the verge of rolling out a COVID-19 vaccine, the numbers have become gloomier than ever: Over 3,000 American deaths in a single day, more than on D-Day or 9/11. One million new cases in the span of five days. More than 106,000 people in the hospital.

The crisis across the country is pushing medical centers to the breaking point and leaving staff members and public health officials burned out and plagued by tears and nightmares.

A U.S. government advisory panel endorsed widespread use of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine Thursday, putting the country just one step away from launching an epic vaccination campaign against the outbreak that has killed close to 300,000 Americans.

Also read:US panel endorses widespread use of Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine

Shots could begin within days, depending on how quickly the Food and Drug Administration signs off, as expected, on the expert committee’s recommendation. 
 

Brazil has recorded the world's second-highest COVID-19 death toll with 179,765 deaths, after the United States, and the third-largest caseload, after the United States and India.

India's Covid-19 tally reached 9,796,769 on Friday while the death toll mounted to 142,186 according to the JHU data.

Russia registered 2,546,113 cases with 44,769 deaths, while 112,326 people died in Mexico with 1,217,126 caseload.
   
Infections have been reported in more than 191 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.

Also read:Covid-19: Global caseload crosses 69 mn, with over 1.5 mn deaths

Vaccine hope

A U.S. government advisory panel endorsed widespread use of Pfizer’s coronavirus vaccine Thursday, putting the country just one step away from launching an epic vaccination campaign against the outbreak that has killed close to 300,000 Americans.

Shots could begin within days, depending on how quickly the Food and Drug Administration signs off, as expected, on the expert committee’s recommendation.

Also read:ADB launches $9 billion vaccine initiative for Asia Pacific

“This is a light at the end of the long tunnel of this pandemic,” declared Dr. Sally Goza, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

In a 17-4 vote with one abstention, the government advisers concluded that the vaccine from Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech appears safe and effective for emergency use in adults and teenagers 16 and over.

That endorsement came despite questions about allergic reaction in two people who received the vaccine earlier this week when Britain became the first country to begin dispensing the Pfizer-BioNTech shot.

While there are a number of remaining unknowns about the vaccine, in an emergency, “the question is whether you know enough” to press ahead, said panel member Dr. Paul Offit of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He concluded that the potential benefits outweigh the risks.

Also read:Oxford vaccine is safe, but questions remain over efficacy