pandemic
6 months of the Coronavirus: Separating fact from fiction
It’s been just over six months since COVID-19, caused by coronavirus, cases were first reported in China’s Hubei Province. The highly contagious virus was declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) in mid-March.
WHO reports largest single-day increase in coronavirus cases
The World Health Organization on Sunday reported the largest single-day increase in coronavirus cases by its count, at more than 183,000 new cases in the latest 24 hours, reports AP.
Experts said rising case counts can reflect multiple factors including more widespread testing as well as broader infection.
Overall in the pandemic, WHO reported 8,708,008 cases — 183,020 in the last 24 hours — with 461,715 deaths worldwide, with a daily increase of 4,743.
More than two-thirds of those new deaths were reported in the Americas.
In Spain, officials ended a national state of emergency after three months of lockdown, allowing its 47 million residents to freely travel around the country for the first time since March 14.
The country also dropped a 14-day quarantine for visitors from Britain and the 26 European countries that allow visa-free travel.
The U.S. has the world’s highest number of reported infections, over 2.2 million, and the highest death toll, at about 120,000, according to Johns Hopkins.
Health officials say robust testing is vital for tracking outbreaks and keeping the virus in check.
The number of confirmed virus cases is still growing rapidly not only in the U.S. but in Brazil, South Africa and other countries, especially in Latin America.
Brazil’s Health Ministry said the total number of cases had risen by more than 50,000 in a day.
President Jair Bolsonaro has been downplaying the risks even as his country has seen nearly 50,000 fatalities, the second-highest death toll in the world.
South Africa reported a one-day high of almost 5,000 new cases on Saturday and 46 deaths.
In the United States, the virus appears to be spreading across the West and South. Arizona reported over 3,100 new infections, just short of Friday’s record, and 26 deaths. Nevada also reported a new high of 445 cases.
In Europe, a single meatpacking plant in Germany has had over 1,000 cases, so the regional government issued a quarantine for all 6,500 workers, managers and family members.
In Asia, China and South Korea reported new coronavirus cases Sunday in outbreaks that threatened to set back their recoveries.
Follow health guidelines to avoid virus: PM
Mentioning that many people, including a cabinet member, an MP and a good number of expatriate Bangladeshis, have lost their lives because of coronavirus, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday urged all to follow health guidelines properly to fight the pandemic.
Coronavirus: Doctors’ mortality rate in Bangladesh ‘highest in the world’
Although healthcare workers on the frontline of the coronavirus battle are falling victim to the virus across the world, experts say the pandemic seems to turn deadly for Bangladeshi doctors in terms of mortality rate.
Lockdown imposed in India's Chennai after surge in COVID-19 cases
In wake of an increase in COVID-19 cases, authorities in India's southern Tamil Nadu state imposed a fresh lockdown in the state capital of Chennai and its suburbs on Friday.
‘Red zones’ in Barishal remain abuzz
As part of the government’s move to tackle the coronavirus outbreak, Barishal city has been divided into red and green zones based on the severity of COVID-19 cases.
Tokyo looks for deeper ties with Dhaka overcoming COVID-19
The government of Japan has said they will continue to extend its support to Bangladesh to have a deeper bilateral relations between the two countries.
Coronavirus: Race for vaccine could leave some countries behind
As the race for a coronavirus vaccine intensifies, rich countries are rushing to place advance orders for the inevitably limited supply to guarantee their citizens get immunised first.
But this leaves significant questions about whether developing countries will get any vaccine before the pandemic ends, reports AP.
Earlier this month, the UN, International Red Cross and Red Crescent, and others said it was a “moral imperative” that everyone have access to a “people’s vaccine.” But such grand declarations are unenforceable, and the allocation of vaccines could be extremely messy.
Yuan Qiong Hu, a senior legal and policy adviser at Medecins Sans Frontieres in Geneva, said there is no road map on how ensure vaccine for everyone and noted that numerous problems must be resolved to manage distribution and that few measures have been taken.
Speaking at a vaccine summit earlier this month that addressed the thorny issue of equitable distribution, Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo said the global spread of COVID-19 has told us in no uncertain terms that disease knows no boundaries and no country can afford to go it alone."
Lockdown not possible sans community inclusion: Tajul
LGRD Minister Md Tajul Islam on Wednesday said community inclusion needs to be prioritised to make zone-based lockdown effective, especially in red zone areas.
15 areas of Sunamganj go under complete lockdown
Local administration has put 15 areas of eight upazilas of Sunamganj district under complete lockdown from Tuesday.