COVID-19 cases
India records highest spike of daily COVID-19 cases this year, tally at 12,392,260
India's COVID-19 tally rose to 12,392,260 on Saturday as 89,129 new cases were reported from across the country, according to the latest figures released by the federal health ministry.
Besides, 714 deaths were registered, taking the death toll to 164,110.
Both the number of new cases and deaths are the highest this year so far.
There are still 658,909 active cases in the country, while 11,569,241 people have been discharged from hospitals after medical treatment.
There was an increase of 44,213 active cases during the previous 24 hours, out of which, the maximum cases were reported from the southwestern state of Maharashtra.
The number of daily active cases has been on the rise over the past few days, as another wave of the pandemic looms large in India.
In January, the number of daily cases in the country had come down to below 10,000 as 9,102 new cases were reported between Jan. 25-26.
Also read: COVID-19 deaths cross 10,000 mark in India, total cases surpass 350,000
India kicked off a nationwide vaccination drive in January, and so far over 73 million people have been vaccinated across the country.
Meanwhile, the federal government has ramped up testing facilities across the country, and more than 246 million tests have been conducted so far.
A total of 246,959,192 tests were conducted till Friday, out of which 1,046,605 tests were conducted on Friday alone, said the latest data issued by the Indian Council of Medical Research on Saturday.
Also read: India's COVID-19 tally rises to 11,599,130 with nearly 44,000 new cases
The national capital Delhi, one of the most affected places in the country, witnessed as many as 3,500 new cases and 14 deaths through Friday.
So far 11,050 people have died in the national capital due to COVID-19, confirmed Delhi's health department.
Covid surge: All elections slated for Apr 11 postponed
The Election Commission (EC) has postponed all elections scheduled for April 11 amid a massive surge in Covid-19 cases in recent days.
“Considering the overall coronavirus situation, the Commission has postponed the Laxmipur-2 by-polls, first phase election to 371 Union Parishads and the sixth phase election to 11 municipalities, which were all scheduled slated for April 11,” EC’s Additional Secretary Ashok Kumar Debnath told reporters.
The decision came from a meeting in the afternoon at the Nirbachan Bhaban with Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda in the chair.
Bangladesh has been recording more than 5,000 cases per day since Monday. On Thursday, the health authorities confirmed 6,469 cases, the highest-ever daily case count since the first ones were announced on March 20 last year.
Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh records highest-ever daily cases, 59 deaths
Debnath said these elections would not be held until the covid situation improves. The parliamentary by-polls and elections to the local bodies would be held from the stage where they were postponed, he added.
He said the candidates will have to keep their campaign suspended until the fresh date is announced for balloting.
EC announced schedules for these elections on March 11.
The deadline for submission of nomination was March 18. The nomination papers were scrutinised on March 19 and the last date for withdrawal of candidature was March 24.
The countrywide Union Parishad elections were supposed to kick off with polls to 371 at 64 upazilas of 19 districts.
Meanwhile, the EC announced the sixth phase municipal election to 11 bodies. It has already held elections to some 230 municipalities in the first five phases between December 28 and February 28 last.
The Laxmipur-2 constituency fell vacant on January 28 after independent MP Mohammad Shahid Islam alias Kazi Papul was convicted by a Kuwait court for criminal offenses.
Nat’l committee for stopping Ekushey Book Fair as Covid cases surge
The National Technical Advisory Committee on Covid-19 has recommended to stop the ongoing Amar Ekushey Book Fair as the country is seeing a massive jump in daily cases.
It has also proposed to halt all types of social events and shut other recreational centres to curb the spread of coronavirus.
At its meeting, the committee also recommended increasing ICU and Covid-19 ward beds at Dhaka hospitals to deal with the increasing stream of patients.
Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh records highest-ever daily cases, 59 deaths
It welcomed the 18-point directive issued by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and emphasised formulating a specific action plan in this regard.
Boi Mela hours curtailed
The surge in coronavirus cases forced the Book Fair management to cut short the daily operational hours.
Also read: Boi Mela to be open for 3.5 hours a day due to COVID-19
Currently, the fair remains open from 3pm to 6:30pm daily.
Covid-19 situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh recorded its highest daily coronavirus cases on Thursday when the health authorities confirmed 6,469 new infections in the last 24 hours.
Also read: Restriction on gatherings, quarantine rule among PMO’s 18-point directive to contain Covid surge
The infection rate also jumped to 22.94 percent from 19.9 percent on Wednesday.
Africa CDC says India vaccine woes could be 'catastrophic'
Africa is unlikely to meet its targets for vaccinating the continent against COVID-19 if supply delays from a key Indian manufacturer continue, the director of the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warned Thursday.
Dr. John Nkengasong told a press briefing that officials hope the problems at the Serum Institute of India will only be temporary otherwise “it would definitely impact our ability to continuously vaccinate people.”
"I really want to deliberately hope that it is a delay — not a ban — because that would be catastrophic,” he said.
Also read: German cities suspend AstraZeneca vaccine use for under-60s
More than half of the 29.1 million vaccine doses received by African nations so far have come through the global COVAX initiative, which aims to ensure that low- and middle-income countries have fair access to vaccines. COVAX has largely relied on distributing the AstraZeneca vaccine, because it is cheaper and only requires ordinary refrigeration.
But the Serum Institute of India recently announced that as many as 90 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine destined for COVAX worldwide will be delayed through the end of April as India’s government grapples with a spike in infections among the country's 1.4 billion people.
Nkengasong said it is not yet known what impact the uncertainty might have for scheduling second doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine in African countries.
“We are tracking that very, very closely,” he said Thursday. “I’m sure countries are still trying to finish vaccinating their first round of the vaccines that were received.”
Also read: Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine batch fails quality check
Nkengasong remained optimistic, though, that a deal announced on Monday for African countries to acquire the single-dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine remains “an historic moment and a game-changer.”
The agreement with the African Union's African Vaccine Acquisition Trust calls for 220 million doses to be delivered by the third quarter of this year, with an option to acquire an additional 180 million doses through 2022.
If those 400 million people receive the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, it would represent more than half the continent's goal of 750 million, Nkengasong said.
Africa has confirmed more than 4.2 million cases and 112,000 deaths, but since most countries on the continent lack the means to track mortality data, it is not clear how many excess deaths have occurred since the pandemic began.
Also read: African expert warns of 'vaccine war' over access to jabs
No alternative to increasing hospital capacity: Health Minister
Health Minister Zahid Maleque has said that there is no alternative to increasing the capacities of hospitals to tackle the surge in Covid-19 cases.
“There’s no alternative to increasing the number of hospital beds as Covid cases are increasing day by day. That’s why the government is increasing the number of beds at all covid-dedicated hospitals,” he said while inaugurating 10 ICU beds at Dhaka Medical College Hospital at an online event.
He said the number of covid-designated hospitals are also being increased.
Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh records highest-ever daily cases, 59 deaths
Minister Maleque said that a market of Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) has been turned into a Covid-dedicated hospital with 1,250-bed capacity.
“There are 50 ICU beds and 200 SDO beds,” he said. “It also has 1,000 isolation beds.”
Maleque said the number of covid beds is being increased at government hospitals in the capital.
Also read: Avoid public gatherings, wear masks to fight Covid surge, PM urges all
In this regard, the minister said that 10 more ICU beds have been added to Dhaka Medical College Hospital today.
Covid-19: Bangladesh records highest-ever daily cases, 59 deaths
For the third time in four days, Bangladesh recorded its highest daily coronavirus cases as the health authorities confirmed 6,469 new infections on Thursday afternoon.
The infection rate jumped to 22.94 percent from 19.9 of Wednesday’s when the country recorded 5,358 cases, the highest in months.
On Tuesday, 5,042 cases were recorded and the number was 5,181 on Monday.
Also read: Avoid public gatherings, wear masks to fight Covid surge, PM urges all
Bangladesh had seen a sharp decline in cases and the daily infection rate dropped below 5 percent but the sudden spurt appears to have caught the health sector unawares. There is hardly any bed available at hospitals treating coronavirus patients.
The country’s covid caseload soared to 617,764 after it recorded its highest-ever single day case count, according to a handout issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
During the 24-hour period until Thursday morning, 2,539 coronavirus patients recovered, taking the number of recoveries to 544,938.
Bangladesh reported its first cases on March 8 last year and confirmed the first death from the virus 10 days later.
The country has so far tested 4,698,774 samples, including 28,198 in the last 24 hours, the DGHS said.
Dhaka sees highest deaths
Meanwhile, the fatalities reached 9,105 with 59 new deaths. The mortality rate slipped slightly to 1.47 percent.
Coronavirus claimed 568 lives in January this year, 281 in February and 638 in March.
Among the latest victims, 40 people died in Dhaka division, five in Chattogram, two each in Rajshahi and Rangpur, four in Khulna, one in Barishal and five in Sylhet division.
So far, 5,192 coronavirus patients died in Dhaka division, 1,645 in Chattogram, 506 in Rajshahi, 586 in Khulna, 274 in Barishal, 325 in Sylhet, 376 in Rangpur and 201 in Mymensingh divisions.
So far 6,847 men (75.20) and 2,258 women (24.80) died of the virus.
Also read: New variant may be behind Covid surge in Bangladesh: Experts
Govt strengthens protective steps
The daily surge prompted the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to issue an 18-point directive on Monday to prevent the virus’ transmission.
On the same day, the Health Ministry proposed strict measures like partial lockdowns for some places with higher Covid-19 transmission rates.
Other recommendations made by the ministry include closure of amusement centres, picnic spots, religious gatherings, limiting wedding ceremonies, strengthening quarantine systems, limiting passengers in public transports, and limiting attendance in offices.
It also suggested strong enforcement of the ‘no mask no service’ policy, increasing numbers of mobile courts and slapping fines on health guideline violators.
The administrations in various districts have shut down the amusement centres and are urging people to mask up. But a large number of people are still reluctant to follow covid health guidelines, putting themselves and others around them at risk.
Vaccination drive
The government launched a countrywide vaccination campaign on February 7 with doses received from the Serum Institute of India.
Bangladesh inked an agreement with Serum in December last year for 30 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. Serum is supposed to supply the doses between January and June this year – 5 million each month.
Also read: Covid surge in Bangladesh: Experts for tightening the grip with nighttime curfew
Global situation
Coronavirus cases were first reported in China in December 2019. Since then, countries around the world have reported 128.8 million cases and 2.8 million deaths so far, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
A number of vaccines have been developed to fight the virus. Most notable of them are those made by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and Oxford-AstraZeneca.
Avoid public gatherings, wear masks to fight Covid surge, PM urges all
EdsSeeking cooperation from all to check the rapid transmission of coronavirus, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday urged people to avoid public gatherings, unnecessary outside stay and wear face masks everywhere.
“This time the virus is spreading very rapidly. This resurgence is not only seen in our country but also throughout the world. So, I would like to tell all that we’ll have to check the coronavirus again this time as we controlled everything in the first time,” she told Parliament.
The Prime Minister made the call participating in the discussion over the condolence motion placed in the first sitting of the 12th session of Parliament at the death of MP Mahmud Us Samad Chowdhury (Sylhet-3).
She said though coronavirus was largely controlled in Bangladesh initially, the sudden surge in the virus infection has recently been seen as people ignored hygiene rules after the Covid-19 inoculation programme started.
Sheikh Hasina said public movement and gatherings went up excessively, though she repeatedly asked all to wear masks and follow the health rules even after getting vaccinated.
Noting that the government has already issued some directives to check the transmission of Covid-19, she said, “We’re trying to bring it under control gradually. But cooperation from people is needed in this regard.”
“I would like to request to pay special attention so that no public gathering takes place anywhere,” she said.
She suggested all to avoid large gatherings of people in social programmes like wedding and return home within a short time after completing their tasks in shops and markets.
“I would like to request all, no matter who is infected or not (by Covid-19), to wear masks always,” said the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister suggested people to take the hot water steam and use mustard oil in their nose. Though the use of mustard oil is rural practice, it can be effective in many cases, she said.
“I always use mustard oil in my nose whenever go outside after the outbreak of Coronavirus,” she added.
Also read:PM issues directives to tackle Covid-19
Bangladesh reports record number of 5,358 new daily Covid cases; 52 deaths
Bangladesh recorded 52 Coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours till Wednesday, the highest single-day death toll in seven months.
Besides, the country’s health authorities recorded over 5,000 fresh cases for the third straight day.
The latest figures showed 5,358 new cases in a 24-hour period until morning, which pushed up the caseload to 611,295, according to a handout issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
This is the highest number of infections in a single day since the pandemic began.
Besides, the coronavirus fatalities reached 9,046 with the new deaths.
Also read:Covid-19 in Bangladesh: Daily death toll, new cases rise
Bangladesh reported its first coronavirus cases on March 8 last year and the first death on the 18th of that month.
The DGHS said the infection rate jumped to 19.90 percent from 18.94 percent on Tuesday while the mortality rate remained static at 1.48 percent.
During the period, 2,219 coronavirus patients recovered, taking the total number of recoveries to 542,399.
So far, 4,670,576 samples have been tested, including 26,931 in the last 24 hours, the DGHS said.
Among the deceased, 34 people died in Dhaka division, nine in Chattogram, three each in Rajshahi, Khulna, two in Sylhet and one in Rangpur divisions.
Also read:Covid-19 in Bangladesh: 10 more deaths push up toll to 8,451
So far, 5,152 coronavirus patients died in Dhaka division, 1,640 in Chattogram, 504 in Rajshahi, 582 in Khulna, 273 in Barishal, 320 in Sylhet, 374 in Rangpur and 201 in Mymensingh divisions.
Covid-19: Bangladesh records 5000+ cases for 2nd consecutive day
Bangladesh on Tuesday recorded over 5,000 new coronavirus cases for the second straight day, signalling a tough fight ahead for the country as people are still reluctant about following basic health guidelines.
With 5,042 new cases in a 24-hour period until morning, the caseload rose to 605,937, according to a handout of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Meanwhile, the coronavirus fatalities climbed to 8,994 with 45 more deaths recorded until morning.
Bangladesh reported its first coronavirus cases on March 8 last year and the first death on the 18th of that month.
The DGHS said the infection rate jumped to 18.94 percent from 18.38 percent on Monday when Bangladesh recorded its highest-ever single day case count (5,181).
During the 24-hour period, 2,162 coronavirus patients recovered, taking the total number of recovered patients to 540,180.
The government has ramped up testing, intensified vaccination campaign and efforts to ensure that the people properly follow health guidelines and hygiene rules.
So far, 4,643,645 samples have been tested – including 26,620 in the last 24 hours, the DGHS said.
Dhaka sees highest Covid deaths
The mortality rate slipped slightly to 1.48 percent on Tuesday.
Among the deceased, 37 people died in Dhaka division, three in Chattogram, two in Rajshahi, two in Khulna and one in Sylhet.
So far, 5,118 coronavirus patients died in Dhaka division, 1,631 in Chattogram, 501 in Rajshahi, 579 in Khulna, 273 in Barishal, 318 in Sylhet, 373 in Rangpur and 201 in Mymensingh.
Covid-19: Govt raises bus fares
In the wake of growing Covid-19 cases, the government has increased the fares of public transport by 60 percent across the country, said Road Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader.
The order will remain in force for the next two weeks, said Obaidul Quader while talking to reporters at a press briefing.
Also read: Proposed partial lockdown in areas with high Covid-19 cases: Health Minister
Passengers will have to pay the additional bus fares from Wednesday, he said.
Earlier on May 31, 2020, the government raised the fares of inter-district and long-haul (Dhaka, Chittagong cities and adjoining areas) buses and minibuses by 60 percent in order to compensate bus owners carrying 50 percent less passengers to prevent the transmission of Coronavirus.
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Monday issued an 18-point directive for the next two weeks in an effort to contain the spread of the coronavirus in Bangladesh.
Also read: 25-30% bus seats must be kept empty, no standing passengers: Quader
The Health Ministry has also proposed partial lockdowns for some places with higher Coronavirus transmission rates, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said Monday.
Partial lockdown, closure of amusement centres, limiting wedding ceremonies, picnic, religious gatherings, strengthening quarantine system, limiting passengers in public transports, and limiting attendance in offices are some of the recommendations.
The ministry also proposed ensuring ‘no mask no service’ policy, increasing numbers of mobile courts and imposing fines on health guideline violators.
Bangladesh on Monday recorded its highest-ever single day infection (5,181) since the first cases were reported on March 8 last year.
The daily infection rate jumped to 18.38 percent from 17.65 percent on Sunday.
Also readNot heading back into lockdown: Quader
The total caseload rose to 600,895 while Bangladesh also reported 45 deaths, raising the national tally to 8,949, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).