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Global Covid cases top 513 million
The overall number of Covid cases has surged past 513 million amid a rise in new infections in parts of the world.
According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 513,457,336 while the death toll from the virus reached 6,235,231 Sunday morning.
The US has recorded 81,349,060 cases so far and 993,712 people have died from the virus in the country, the university data shows.
India's Covid-19 tally rose to 43,075,864 on Saturday, as 3,688 new cases were registered in 24 hours across the country, showed the federal health ministry's data.
This is the third day when the number of new cases breached the 3,000-mark, after lying low for the past several months.
Also read: Bangladesh reports 27 new Covid-19 cases, no death
Besides, as many as 50 deaths across the country due to the pandemic since Friday morning took the total death toll to 523,803.
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh reported 17 fresh Covid cases in 24 hours till Saturday morning, taking the total caseload to 19,52,691.
As per the latest government data, the country’s total fatalities remained unchanged at 29,127 as no one died during the period, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The daily positivity rate slightly dropped to 0.58 per cent from Friday’s 0.63 per cent after testing 2,938 samples during the period.
On Friday, the number of infections was higher as 30 new cases were reported with zero deaths.
Besides, the mortality rate remained unchanged at 1.49 per cent.
The recovery rate rose to 97.07 per cent with the recovery of 358 more patients during the 24-hour period.
In March, the country reported 85 Covid-linked deaths and 8,000 new cases while 66,639 patients recovered from the disease, according to DGHS.
Global Covid cases top 498 million
The overall number of Covid cases has surpassed 498 million amid a rise in new infections in parts of the world.
According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 498,154,313 while the death toll from the virus reached 6,176,420 Sunday morning.
The US has recorded 80,399,474 cases so far and 985,482 people have died from the virus in the country, the university data shows.
India's Covid-19 tally rose to 43,035,271 on Saturday, with 2,204 new cases registered in 24 hours across the country, showed the federal health ministry's latest data.
Besides, 122 deaths due to the pandemic reported since Friday morning took the total death toll to 521,695.
READ: Global Covid cases top 497 million
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh logged 28 fresh Covid cases in 24 hours till Saturday morning, taking the total caseload to 19,52,023.
As per the latest government data, the country’s total fatalities remained static at 29,123 as no death was reported during the period for the 5th consecutive day.
The daily positivity rate slightly decreased to 0.62 per cent from Friday's 0.77 per cent after testing 4,491 samples during the period, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
On Friday, the number of infections was higher as 48 new cases were reported with no death.
Besides, the mortality rate remained unchanged at 1.49 per cent.
The recovery rate rose to 96.72 per cent with the recovery of 610 more patients during the 24-hour period.
In March, the country reported 85 Covid-linked deaths and 8,000 new cases while 66,639 patients recovered from the disease, according to DGHS.
Among the 85 deaths during the period, 44 were unvaccinated patients, 11 were vaccinated with the first dose of Covid-19 vaccine, 28 with the second dose and two with the third dose.
The country reported first zero Covid-related death in a single day on November 20 last year along with 178 infections since the pandemic broke out in Bangladesh in March 2020.
On January 28, Bangladesh logged its previous highest daily positivity rate at 33.37 per cent reporting 15,440 cases and 20 deaths.
Besides, the country registered the highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year, while the highest number of daily fatalities was 264 on August 10 last year.
Global Covid cases top 490 million
The overall number of Covid cases has now surpassed 490 million amid a rise in new infections in parts of the world.
According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 490,610,853 while the death toll from the virus reached 6,150,934 Sunday morning.
The US has recorded 80,150,804 cases so far and 982,533 people have died from the virus in the country, the university data shows.
India's Covid-19 tally rose to 43,028,131 on Sunday, as 2,356 new cases were registered in 24 hours across the country, showed the health ministry's latest data.
Besides, 193 deaths due to the pandemic have been recorded since Saturday morning, pushing up the death toll to 521,374.
READ: Global Covid cases top 488 million
Meanwhile, Brazil, which has been experiencing a new wave of cases since January last year, registered 29,995,575 infections as of Saturday, while its Covid death toll rose to 660,371.
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh logged 56 fresh Covid cases in 24 hours till Saturday morning, taking the total caseload to 19,51,714.
As per the latest government data, the country’s total fatalities remained unchanged at 29,122 as no death was reported during the period.
On Friday, 81 new cases were reported with no death.
The daily positivity rate decreased to 0.88 per cent from Friday’s 1.09 per cent after testing 6,367 samples during the period, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Besides, the mortality rate remained unchanged at 1.49 per cent.
The recovery rate rose to 96.47 per cent with the recovery of 717 more patients during the 24-hour period.
Global Covid cases top 480 million
The overall number of Covid cases has surged past 480 million as the pandemic enters into its third year.
According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 480,076,170 while the death toll from the virus reached 6,120,910 Saturday morning.
The US has recorded 79,946,097 cases so far and 976,652 people have died from the virus in the country, the university data shows.
India's Covid-19 tally rose to 43,019,270 on Sunday, as 1,238 new cases were registered in 24 hours across the country, showed the federal health ministry data.
Besides, as many as 179 deaths due to the pandemic were reported since Saturday morning, taking the total death toll to 521,034
Meanwhile, Brazil, which has been experiencing a new wave of cases since January last year, registered 29,839,103 cases as of Sunday, while its Covid death toll rose to 659,046.
READ: Global Covid cases top 479 million
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh logged 65 fresh Covid cases in 24 hours till Saturday morning, taking the total caseload to 19,51,239.
As per the latest government data, the country’s total fatalities remained unchanged at 29,118 as no death was reported during the period.
The daily positivity rate declined a bit to 0.89 per cent from Friday's 1.03 per cent after testing 7,336 samples during the period, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Besides, the mortality rate remained unchanged too at 1.49 per cent.
The recovery rate rose to 96.20 per cent with the recovery of 983 more patients during the 24-hour period.
The country reported first zero Covid-related death in a single day on November 20 last year along with 178 infections since the pandemic broke out in Bangladesh in March 2020.
On January 28, Bangladesh logged its previous highest daily positivity rate at 33.37 per cent reporting 15,440 cases and 20 deaths.
Besides, the country registered the highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year, while the highest number of daily fatalities was 264 on August 10 last year.
Global Covid cases top 423 million
The overall number of Covid cases has surged past 423 million as Omicron infections keep rising across the globe.
According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 423,029,606 while the death toll from the virus reached 5,880,651 till Sunday morning.
The US has recorded 78,457,081 cases so far and 934,951 people have died from the virus in the country, the university data shows.
READ: Global Covid cases top 421 million
India's Covid-19 tally rose to 42,802,505 Saturday, as 22,270 new cases were registered in 24 hours across the country, as per the federal health ministry's latest data.
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh logged 13 more Covid-linked deaths with 2,150 fresh cases in 24 hours till Saturday morning amid a downtrend trend in cases.
The daily positivity rate declined to 8.71 per cent from Friday’s 9.31 per cent from after testing 24,698 samples during the period, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
On Friday, Bangladesh reported 24 Covid-related deaths with 2,584 fresh cases.
The fresh numbers took the country’s total fatalities to 28,944 while the caseload to 19,31,304.
Among the new deceased, seven were men and six women.
Five of the deaths were reported in Dhaka division while four in Chattogram, one each in Barishal, Rajshahi, Khulna and Rangpur divisions.
Meanwhile, the mortality rate remained static at 1.50 per cent.
However, the recovery rate slightly rose to 90.37 per cent with the recovery of 7,478 more patients during the 24-hour period.
On January 28, Bangladesh logged its earlier highest daily positivity rate at 33.37 per cent reporting 15,440 cases and 20 deaths.
Will spread Bangla, Bangla literature further globally: Hasina
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday promised to spread further the great Bangla, its literature and the country’s culture and heritage across the world as Bangladesh’s rich diversity has its own strength.
“Our efforts will be to spread Bangla language, literature, and culture more in the international arena and I believe that we will be successful in that,” she said.
The Prime Minister said this while distributing the Ekushey Padak, the country’s second highest civilian award, among 24 eminent personalities in recognition of their contributions to various fields.
The programme was held at the Osmani Memorial Auditorium. The Prime Minister joined it virtually from her official residence Ganobahban.
READ: Prepare universal pension scheme for all: Hasina
Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Huq distributed the prestigious award among the recipients on behalf of the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister also said the government has been working relentlessly to change the fate of the grassroots level and deprived people. “More importantly, we want to attain economic emancipation.”
She said Bangladesh is advancing and will continue its journey towards prosperity.
Briefly describing the struggle of the country’s Independence from Language Movement, Hasina said that sacrifices of many people have made the Bangladesh independence possible.
“Independence does not come through a sudden declaration of any person, that did not come, the independence came through the journey of the struggle. And that struggle was launched by Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman,” she added.
The PM went on saying, “The contribution of him (Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman) is the independent Bangladesh and this country emerged as a country of a Nation."
Recalling the efforts to erase the contributions of Bangabandhu after his assassination in 1975, Hasina said his contributions to the Language Movement and Liberation War had also most been erased. "But the reality is, no one could erase the truth and history."
READ: Spread Bangladesh’s vibrant cultural activities: Hasina
Congratulating the awardees, the Prime Minister said the new generation will come forward to devote themselves to the welfare of the country and its people following their footsteps.
State Minister for the Cultural Affairs Ministry KM Khalid presided over the programme while Secretary of the ministry Md Abul Monsur delivered the welcome address.
Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam conducted the award-giving ceremony and read out the citations of the recipients, organised by the Ministry of Cultural Affairs.
The Prime Minister reiterated her call to all to take Covid-19 vaccine as the government is providing it free of cost when many rich countries are not doing so.
Hasina urged all the responsible people, both in government and private sectors, to make sure their near and dear ones as well as neighbours are vaccinated.
She also called upon all to properly maintain health safety protocols to escape the virus infections.
Global Covid cases top 402 million
The overall number of Covid cases has surpassed 402 million, with the Omicron variant’s rapid spread across the globe.
According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 402,919,300 while the death toll from the virus reached 5,775,363 Thursday morning.
The US has recorded 77,258,837 cases so far and 912,208 people have died from the virus in the country, the university data shows.
Russia is reporting a record daily count of new coronavirus infections, a tenfold spike from a month ago as the highly contagious Omicron variant spreads through the country, reports AP.
Russia’s Covid-19 cases surged to 13,128,679 with 330,609 deaths, says JHU data.
India's Covid-19 tally rose to 42,410,976 on Wednesday. So far, the country has reported 505,279 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins data.
READ: Global Covid cases top 400 million
Brazil, which has been experiencing a new wave of cases since last January, has registered 26,972,914 cases so far and 635,421 people have died from the deadly virus in the country.
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh logged 33 more Covid-linked deaths with 8,016 fresh cases in 24 hours till Wednesday morning.
The daily positivity rate slightly declined to 18.83% from Tuesday’s 20.03% after testing 42,564 samples during the period, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The number of deaths is the highest in nearly six months as the country last recorded 43 deaths on September 19 last year with 1,383 cases.
On Tuesday, Bangladesh reported 43 more Covid-linked deaths with 8,354 fresh cases.
The fresh numbers took the country’s total fatalities to 28,703 while the caseload mounted to 1,887,271.
Among the new deceased, 24 were men and nine women.
Fifteen of the deaths were reported in Dhaka division, six in Chattogram, four in Rajshahi, two each in Khulna, Sylhet and Mymensingh divisions, and one each in Barishal and Rangpur divisions.
Meanwhile, the mortality rate was recorded at 1.52%.
However, the recovery rate slightly increased to 86.56% with the recovery of 10,725 more patients during the 24-hour period.
On January 28, Bangladesh logged its earlier highest daily positivity rate at 33.37% reporting 15,440 cases and 20 deaths.
READ: Global Covid cases top 397 million
On December 9 last year, Bangladesh again logged zero Covid-related death after nearly three weeks as the pandemic was apparently showing signs of easing.
The country reported this year’s first zero Covid-related death in a single day on November 20 last year along with 178 infections since the pandemic broke out in Bangladesh in March 2020.
Besides, the country registered the highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year, while the highest number of daily fatalities was 264 on August 10 last year.
Global Covid cases top 372 million
The overall number of Covid cases has surpassed 372 million amid a surge in Omicron infections across the globe.
According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 372,116,742 while the death toll from the virus reached 5,656,941 Saturday morning.
The US has recorded 74,213,736 cases so far and 883,864 people have died from the virus in the country, the university data shows.
READ: Global Covid cases top 369 million
Omicron, the highly contagious coronavirus variant sweeping across the country, is driving the daily American death toll higher than during last fall’s Delta wave, with deaths likely to keep rising for days or even weeks, reports AP.
Omicron is estimated to account for nearly all the virus circulating in the nation. And even though it causes less severe disease for most people, the fact that it is more transmissible means more people are falling ill and dying.
India's Covid-19 tally rose to 40,858,241 on Saturday with 235,532 new confirmed cases registered in 24 hours, as per the health ministry's latest data.
Besides, 871 deaths reported due to the pandemic since Thursday morning took the total death toll to 493,198.
Brazil, which has been experiencing a new wave of cases since last January, registered 25,256,198 cases as of Friday, while its Covid death toll rose to 626,870.
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh reported 21 more Covid-linked deaths with 10,378 fresh cases in 24 hours till Saturday morning.
The daily positivity rate dropped to 31.10 per cent from highest-ever 33.37 per cent recorded on Friday after testing 33,373 samples during the period, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
READ: Global Covid cases surpass 366 million
The country logged its earlier highest daily positivity rate at 32.55% on July 24 last year reporting 6,780 cases and 195 deaths.
On Friday, Bangladesh reported 20 Covid-linked deaths with 15,440 fresh cases.
The fresh numbers took the country’s total fatalities to 28,329 while the caseload mounted to 1,731,149.
Among the new deceased, 14 were men and seven women.
Twelve deaths were reported in Dhaka division while two each in Chattogram, Khulna, Rangpur and one each in Rajshahi, Barishal and Mymensingh divisions.
Meanwhile, the mortality rate further declined to 1.60 per cent.
However, the recovery rate also declined to 88.18 per cent with the recovery of 1,109 more patients during the 24-hour period.
Bangladesh’s total tally of Omicron cases reached 69 with the detection of five more cases till Sunday, according to GISAID, a global initiative on sharing all influenza data.
On December 9 last year, Bangladesh again logged zero Covid-related death after nearly three weeks as the pandemic was apparently showing signs of easing.
The country reported this year’s first zero Covid-related death in a single day on November 20 last year along with 178 infections since the pandemic broke out in Bangladesh in March 2020.
Besides, the country registered the highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year, while the highest number of daily fatalities was 264 on August 10 last year.
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Hope seen once omicron wave increases global immunity, even as new version of variant found
World health officials are offering hope that the ebbing of the omicron wave could give way to a new, more manageable phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, even as they warn of difficult weeks ahead and the possibility of another, more dangerous variant arising - as reports emerged of a new version of the variant in some countries.
In the U.S., cases have crested and are dropping rapidly, following a pattern seen in Britain and South Africa, with researchers projecting a period of low spread in many countries by the end of March. Though U.S. deaths — now at 2,000 each day — are still rising, new hospital admissions have started to fall, and a drop in deaths is expected to follow.
The encouraging trends after two years of coronavirus misery have brought a noticeably hopeful tone from health experts. Rosy predictions have crumbled before, but this time they are backed by what could be called omicron’s silver lining: The highly contagious variant will leave behind extremely high levels of immunity.
On Sunday, Dr. Anthony Fauci talked on ABC “This Week” about a “best-case scenario” where COVID-19 would fall to manageable levels so the United States could get “back to a degree of normality.”
And on Monday, the World Health Organization issued a statement anticipating an end to the “emergency phase” of the pandemic this year and saying that the omicron variant “offers plausible hope for stabilization and normalization.”
Both Fauci and the WHO’s Europe regional director, Dr. Hans Kluge, cautioned that new variants are likely to emerge, but with vaccination, new drug therapies and — during surges — testing and masks, the world could reach a less disruptive level of disease in which the virus is, as Fauci put it, “essentially integrated into the general respiratory infections that we have learned to live with.”
In the U.S., new cases are averaging a still extraordinarily high 680,000 a day, down from an all-time peak of over 800,000 a little more than a week ago.
The places in the U.S. where omicron struck first are seeing the sharpest declines. New cases in the Northeast are nose-diving, while other states — Arizona, Texas, Oregon, Kansas and North Dakota among them — are still waiting for relief.
Falling, too, are new U.S. hospital admissions of patients with confirmed COVID-19. They are averaging nearly 20,000 per day, down about 7% from the previous week, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Those numbers include patients who went to the hospital for other reasons and tested positive. But even after accounting for these incidental infections, the trend is hopeful.
One influential model projects that nearly all nations will be past the omicron wave by mid-March, including China and other countries with “zero COVID” policies. The wave will leave behind high levels of immunity — both from infection and vaccination — that could lead to low levels of transmission for many weeks or months.
“What do we end up with at the end of this?” said Dr. Christopher Murray of the University of Washington, who developed the closely watched Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation model. “We end up with the highest levels of global immunity that we’ve seen in the pandemic.”
The model estimates that 57% of the world’s population already has been infected with the virus at least once.
Another research group, which combines several models and shares the projections with the White House, predicts a strong decline in U.S. infections by April, unless a new variant emerges that can sidestep the growing levels of immunity.
“It would be dangerous to forget that possibility, as it has caught us before,” said Katriona Shea of Pennsylvania State University, a leader of the team that pulls together the models.
She noted, too, that the projections show 16,000 to 98,000 more Americans dying before the omicron wave is through. The U.S. death toll stands at close to 870,000.
“Even if we project a more optimistic future, right now we still have a lot of COVID spreading, a lot of strain in our hospital systems, and our deaths have not yet peaked,” said Lauren Ancel Meyers, director of the University of Texas COVID-19 Modeling Consortium.
READ: Taking Omicron lightly may cause great damage, warns Health Minister
“There’s still a lot of pain before omicron has run its course,” she said, but added: “It’s very plausible that omicron will be a turning point in terms of our relationship with this virus.”
New version not a cause for alarm
A new version of the highly contagious omicron variant been spreading in parts of Asia and Europe, with the WHO recommending Monday that officials begin investigating its characteristics to determine whether it poses new challenges for pandemic-weary nations.
Known as BA. 2, the new version of the virus is a descendant of the omicron variant. Virologists are referring to the original omicron variant as BA. 1.
"The BA. 2 descendant lineage, which differs from BA. 1 in some of the mutations, including in the spike protein, is increasing in many countries," the WHO wrote on its website. "Investigations into the characteristics of BA. 2, including immune escape properties and virulence, should be prioritized independently (and comparatively) to BA. 1."
Viruses mutate constantly, mostly in harmless ways. There is no current evidence that BA. 2 is more virulent, spreads faster or escapes immunity better than BA. 1.
BA. 2 has been detected in India, Denmark and Britain, among other countries, according to health officials and media reports abroad. In Europe, it appears the most widespread in Denmark, but that may be because the Scandinavian nation has a robust program of sequencing the virus's genome.
At least three cases have been found in the United States at Houston Methodist Hospital in Texas, which also is studying the genetic makeup of virus samples from its patients.
READ: 5 more Omicron cases detected in Bangladesh
Kristen Nordlund, a spokeswoman for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said, "Although the BA.2 lineage has recently increased in proportion in some countries, it remains a very low proportion of circulating viruses in the United States and globally. Currently, there are insufficient data to determine whether the BA.2 lineage is more transmissible or has a fitness advantage over the BA.1 lineage. CDC continues to monitor variants that are circulating both domestically and internationally."
Global Covid cases surpass 348 million
Amid the rising Omicron cases across the world, the overall number of Covid cases has surpassed 348 million.
According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 348,592,351 while the death toll from the virus reached 5,590,277 Sunday morning.
The US has recorded 70,464,222 cases so far and 865,310 people have died from the virus in the country, the university data shows.
India's Covid-19 tally rose to 38,903,731 Saturday as 337,704 new cases were registered in 24 hours across the country, as per the federal health ministry data.
Friday was the second consecutive day when over 300,000 daily cases were registered in more than eight months.
READ: Global Covid cases top 340 million
Besides, 488 deaths due to the pandemic since Friday morning took the total death toll to 488,884.
Brazil, which has been experiencing a new wave of cases since last January, registered 23,931,609 cases as of Saturday, while its Covid death toll rose to 623,191
Covid situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh logged 17 more Covid-linked deaths with 9,614 fresh cases in 24 hours till Saturday morning with a slight decline in the infection rate.
The daily positivity rate declined to 28.02 per cent from Friday’s 28.49 per cent after testing 34,311 samples, according to the Directorate general of health Services (DGHS).
The country last logged 17 deaths on October 13 last with 513 cases.
Bangladesh reported 1,434 fresh cases with 12 deaths on Friday.
The fresh numbers took the country’s total fatalities to 28,209 while the caseload mounted to 1,674,230 on Saturday.
Among the new deceased, 11 were men and six women.
Eleven cases were reported in Dhaka division while two each in Chattogram, Khulna, one each in Barishal and Mymensingh divisions.
READ: Global Covid cases top 337 million
Meanwhile, the mortality rate further declined to 1.68 per cent.
New Restrictions
All schools, colleges and universities in the country will remain closed from January 21 to February 6 in an effort to curb the spread of Covid-19 pandemic, the government announced on Friday.
The Cabinet Division issued a notification in this regard, imposing restrictions on the overall activities and movement of people in the country amid a worrying spike in Covid cases.
The notification asked all to wear masks and maintain health rules at public places like markets, shopping malls, mosques, bus stands, launch terminals, railway stations. Local authorities have been instructed to monitor and ensure compliance.