Amid the rising infections in frontier districts, Bangladesh reported 1,970 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours until Monday morning.

The deadly virus also claimed 30 more lives during the period, pushing up the death toll to 12,869.

The positivity rate increased to 11.47% from Sunday's 10.73 % while the mortality rate remained static at 1.58 %, a handout of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said.   

The total number of coronavirus cases climbed to 8,12,960 with the fresh cases.

During the same time at least 1,918 Covid-19 patients have recovered in this period.

The total number of recoveries now stands at 7,53,240 with a recovery rate of 92.65 %.

Among the recent deaths, 19 were men and 11 women.

Of them, 11 died in Chattogram, 7 in Dhaka, 4 in Sylhet, 3 in Khulna, 2 each in Rajshahi and Mymensingh and 1 in Rangpur.

Besides, three were between 31-40 years’ old, three within 41-50, two between 51-60 and 22 were above 60 years old, added the DGHS handout.

Also read: 7 more Covid-19 patients die at RMCH

7 more Covid-19 patients die at RMCH

Seven more Covid patients died in the past 24 hours until Monday morning at Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital (RMCH), according to health officials.

But the DGHS handout shows two people died in Rajshahi from 8 am Sunday till 8 am Monday.

With the fresh deaths, 60 people have died in Rajshahi division since June 1.

Deputy Director of Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital Saiful Ferdous said, “Some 232 patients are undergoing treatment at the hospital. Of them, 18 are at the ICU."

During the past 24 hours, some 20 people have been admitted to the hospital with Covid-19 symptoms.

Of them, 16 are from Rajshahi district, three from Chapainawabganj and one from Naogaon district, said sources at the hospital.

Dr Saiful said 241 people of the three districts came out positive in 605 tests in two labs on Sunday.

Of them, nine people were diagnosed with Covid infections after the test of 44 samples from Chapainawabganj and 35 found positive after the test of 84 samples from Naogaon district.

Further restrictions imposed in Kushtia

Amid the worsening Covid-19 situation in frontier districts, the local administration in Kushtia has imposed strict restrictions on public movement.

The local administration has issued a circular asking people to complete their necessary works from 10 am to 8 pm every day in order to prevent transmission of Covid-19, said deputy commissioner Mohammad Saidul Islam.

The restrictions came into effect from Sunday midnight and will continue till June 16.

According to the circular, all shops and markets will remain open from 10 am till 8 pm following health guidelines.

Legal action will be taken if anyone violates the order.

Also read: Covid-19: Restrictions imposed in Kushtia

Vaccination drive

Around 7,363 people have received the second dose of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in the last 24 hours.

A total number of 42,16,696 people got their dose of this vaccine while the number is 58,20,015 for the first dose.

Besides, the total number of people receiving their first jab of Chinese Sinopharm vaccine reached 2,162 during the same time.

Bangladesh launched its vaccination drive on February 7 with Oxford-AstraZeneca doses bought from India's Serum Institute.

So far, four vaccines – Oxford-AstraZeneca (Covishield), Sputnik-V, Sinopharm, and Pfizer-BioNTech – have got the approval for emergency use in Bangladesh.

Meanwhile, seven million doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine reached Bangladesh, and the governments of India and China gave 3.2 million doses and 500,000 doses of coronavirus vaccine as gifts respectively.

However, 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.