Covid deaths
Covid kills 11 more in Bangladesh, infects 599 others
Covid-19 claimed 11 more lives in Bangladesh and infected 599 others in 24 hours till Monday morning.
With the fresh numbers, the Covid-19 fatalities reached 27,699 in Bangladesh while the caseload mounted to 1,562,958, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Of the latest deceased, nine were women and two men.
Also read: Covid-19: Experts say Bangladesh close to reaching herd immunity threshold
Seven of them died in Dhaka division, two in Barishal and one each in Khulna and Mymensingh divisions.
The fresh cases were detected after testing 23,193samples.
With this, the daily-case positivity rate increased slightly to 2.58% percent from Sunday’s 2.36 percent, said the DGHS.
Bangladesh recorded below 3% daily-positivity rate last on February this year. However, the mortality rate remained static at 1.77 percent.
Also read: Covid fear deprives Bagerhat of its legendary Shikdar Bari’s Puja
The recovery rate also remained unchanged at 97.53 percent with the recovery of 634 more patients during the period.
So far, 1,524,467 people have recovered from the deadly virus infections, the DGHS added.
Covid kills 18, infects 794 more in Bangladesh
Covid-19 claimed 18 more lives in Bangladesh with 794 new cases being detected in 24 hours till Monday morning.
On Sunday, the country saw 18 Covid-related deaths and 617 cases.
The fresh cases were detected after testing 24,928 samples which increased the daily case positivity rate to 3.19 per cent from Sunday’s 2.90 per cent, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Also read: ADB to provide Bangladesh $250 million for Covid recovery
The daily case positivity rate in the country remained below 5 percent for the 12th consecutive day.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), if the daily-case positivity rate remains at 5 per cent or below for 14 days it is considered to be safe for mass unlocking.
The daily case positivity rate in Bangladesh reached its peak 32.55 percent on July 24 this year.
The fresh numbers took the total fatalities to 27,591 while the caseload mounted to 15,58,758, said the DGHS.
However, the mortality rate remained static at 1.77 percent.
Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh reports 18 more deaths; positivity rate falls to 2.90 pc
The recovery rate slightly increased to 97.49 percent with the recovery of 834 more patients during the 24-hour period.
So far, 15,19,588 people have recovered from the deadly virus infections, the DGHS added.
US hits 700,000 COVID deaths just as cases begin to fall
The United States reached its latest heartbreaking pandemic milestone Friday, eclipsing 700,000 deaths from COVID-19 just as the surge from the delta variant is starting to slow down and give overwhelmed hospitals some relief.
It took 3 ½ months for the U.S. to go from 600,000 to 700,000 deaths, driven by the variant’s rampant spread through unvaccinated Americans. The death toll is larger than the population of Boston.
This milestone is especially frustrating to public health leaders and medical professionals on the front lines because vaccines have been available to all eligible Americans for nearly six months and the shots overwhelmingly protect against hospitalizations and death. An estimated 70 million eligible Americans remain unvaccinated, providing kindling for the variant.
“You lose patients from COVID and it should not happen,” said Debi Delapaz, a nurse manager at UF Health Jacksonville who recalled how the hospital was at one point losing eight patients a day to COVID-19 during the summer surge. “This is something that should not happen.”
Despite the rising death toll, there are signs of improvement.
Nationwide, the number of people now in the hospital with COVID-19 has fallen to somewhere around 75,000 from over 93,000 in early September. New cases are on the downswing at about 112,000 per day on average, a drop of about one-third over the past 2 1/2 weeks.
Deaths, too, appear to be declining, averaging about 1,900 a day versus more than 2,000 about a week ago.
The easing of the summer surge has been attributed to more mask wearing and more people getting vaccinated. The decrease in case numbers could also be due to the virus having burned through susceptible people and running out of fuel in some places.
READ: China to continue supporting Bangladesh until final win against COVID: Envoy
In another development, Merck said Friday its experimental pill for people sick with COVID-19 reduced hospitalizations and deaths by half. If it wins authorization from regulators, it will be the first pill for treating COVID-19 — and an important, easy-to-use new weapon in the arsenal against the pandemic.
All treatments now authorized in the U.S. against the coronavirus require an IV or injection.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, the government’s top infectious disease specialist, warned on Friday that some may see the encouraging trends as a reason to remain unvaccinated.
“It’s good news we’re starting to see the curves” coming down, he said. “That is not an excuse to walk away from the issue of needing to get vaccinated.”
Unknowns include how flu season may strain already depleted hospital staffs and whether those who have refused to get vaccinated will change their minds.
“If you’re not vaccinated or have protection from natural infection, this virus will find you,” warned Mike Osterholm, director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy.
Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, began seeing a surge of COVID-19 hospitalizations in mid-July, and by the first week of August, the place was beyond capacity. It stopped elective surgeries and brought in military doctors and nurses to help care for patients.
With cases now down, the military team is scheduled to leave at the end of October.
READ: Covid-19: 23 more die, 860 new cases in Bangladesh
Still, the hospital’s chief medical officer, Dr. Catherine O’Neal, said the rate of hospitalizations isn’t decreasing as quickly as cases in the community because the delta variant is affecting more young people who are otherwise healthy and are living much longer in the intensive care unit on ventilators.
“It creates a lot of ICU patients that don’t move anywhere,” she said. And many of the patients aren’t going home at all. In the last few weeks, the hospital saw several days with more than five COVID-19 deaths daily, including one day when there were 10 deaths.
“We lost another dad in his 40s just a few days ago,” O’Neal said. “It’s continuing to happen. And that’s what the tragedy of COVID is.”
As for where the outbreak goes from here, “I have to tell you, my crystal ball has broken multiple times in the last two years,” she said. But she added that the hospital has to be prepared for another surge at the end of November, as flu season also ramps up.
Dr. Sandra Kemmerly, system medical director for hospital quality at Ochsner Health in Louisiana, said this fourth surge of the pandemic has been harder. “It’s just frustrating for people to die of vaccine-preventable illnesses,” she said.
At the peak of this most recent wave, Ochsner hospitals had 1,074 COVID-19 patients on Aug. 9. That had dropped to 208 as of Thursday.
Other hospitals are seeing decreases as well. The University of Mississippi Medical Center had 146 hospitalized COVID-19 patients at its mid-August peak. That was down to 39 on Friday. Lexington Medical Center in West Columbia, South Carolina, had more than 190 in early September but just 49 on Friday.
But Kemmerly doesn’t expect the decrease to last. “I fully expect to see more hospitalizations due to COVID,” she said.
Like many other health professionals, Natalie Dean, a professor of biostatistics at Emory University, is taking a cautious view about the winter.
It is unclear if the coronavirus will take on the seasonal pattern of the flu, with predictable peaks in the winter as people gather indoors for the holidays. Simply because of the nation’s size and diversity, there will be places that have outbreaks and surges, she said.
What’s more, the uncertainties of human behavior complicate the picture. People react to risk by taking precautions, which slows viral transmission. Then, feeling safer, people mingle more freely, sparking a new wave of contagion.
“Infectious disease models are different from weather models,” Dean said. “A hurricane doesn’t change its course because of what the model said.”
One influential model, from the University of Washington, projects new cases will bump up again this fall, but vaccine protection and infection-induced immunity will prevent the virus from taking as many lives as it did last winter.
Still, the model predicts about 90,000 more Americans will die by Jan. 1 for an overall death toll of 788,000 by that date. The model calculates that about half of those deaths could be averted if almost everyone wore masks in public.
“Mask wearing is already heading in the wrong direction,” said Ali Mokdad, a professor of health metrics sciences at the university. “We need to make sure we are ready for winter because our hospitals are exhausted.”
Global Covid cases near 234 million
The overall number of global Covid cases is fast approaching 234 million even with mass inoculations underway in several countries.
According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 233,691,159 while the death tally from the virus reached 4,781,886 on Friday morning.
The US has recorded 43,457,690 cases to date and more than 697,832 people have died so far from the virus in the country, as per the university data.
Brazil, which has been experiencing a new wave of cases since January, registered 21,427,073 cases as of Thursday. Brazil's Covid-19 death toll has risen to 596,800.
Also read: Woman who survived Spanish flu, world war succumbs to COVID
Besides, India's Covid-19 tally rose to 33,765,488 on Thursday, as 27,300 new cases were registered in 24 hours across the country, as per the federal health ministry's data.
Besides, as many as 282 deaths due to the pandemic since Tuesday morning took the total death toll to 448,372.
Situation in Bangladesh
Covid-19 in Bangladesh claimed 23 more lives and infected 860 others in 24 hours till Thursday morning, showing a slight increase in the number of fatalities and decrease in cases compared to that of the previous day.
On Wednesday, the country logged 17 Covid deaths and 1,178 cases .
The new cases were detected after testing 28,599 samples.
The daily case positivity rate declined further to 3.24 percent from Wednesday’s 4.12, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
With this, the daily case positivity rate of Covid-19 in the country remained below 5 percent for the ninth consecutive day.
Also read: Am I fully vaccinated without a COVID-19 vaccine booster?
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), if the daily-case positivity rate remains at 5 percent or below for 14 days, it is considered safe for mass unlocking.
The fresh numbers took the total fatalities to 27,510 while the caseload mounted to 15,55,911, said the directorate.
However, the mortality rate remained static at 1.77 percent.
The recovery rate slightly increased to 97.43 percent with the recovery of 979 more patients during the period.
So far, 15,15,941 people have recovered from the deadly virus infections, the DGHS said.
Covid-19: 23 more die, 860 new cases in Bangladesh
Covid-19 in Bangladesh claimed 23 more lives and infected 860 others in 24 hours till Thursday morning, showing a slight increase in the number of fatalities and decrease in cases compared to that of the previous day.
On Wednesday, the country logged 17 Covid deaths and 1,178 cases .
The new cases were detected after testing 28,599 samples.
Also read: China to continue supporting Bangladesh until final win against COVID: Envoy
The daily case positivity rate declined further to 3.24 per cent from Wednesday’s 4.12, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
With this, the daily case positivity rate of Covid-19 in the country remained below 5 per cent for the ninth consecutive day.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), if the daily-case positivity rate remains at 5 per cent or below for 14 days it is considered to be safe for mass unlocking.
The fresh numbers took the total fatalities to 27,510 while the caseload mounted to 15,55,911, said the DGHS.
However, the mortality rate remained static at 1.77 per cent.
Also read: Covid-19: Covid death toll falls to 17 in Bangladesh
The recovery rate slightly increased to 97.43 per cent with the recovery of 979 more patients during the period.
So far, 15,15,941 people have recovered from the deadly virus infections, the DGHS added.
Covid-19 in Bangladesh: 31 more die, 1,310 patients infected
Covid-19 in Bangladesh claimed 31 more lives and infected 1,310 others in 24 hours till Tuesday morning, showing a slight increase in the number of fatalities and cases compared to the previous day.
On Monday, the country logged 25 Covid deaths and 1,212 cases.
On Sunday, Bangladesh logged 21 deaths which is the lowest in four months.
The fresh cases were detected after testing 9,186 samples.
The daily case positivity rate rose to 4.49 percent from Monday’s 4.36 percent, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
With this, the daily case positivity rate of Covid-19 in the country remained below 5 percent for the eighth consecutive day.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), if the daily-case positivity rate remains at 5 percent or below for 14 days is considered to be safe for mass unlocking.
The fresh numbers took the total fatalities to 27,470 while the caseload mounted to 1,553,837, said the DGHS.
However, the mortality rate remained static at 1.77 percent.
The recovery rate remained unchanged at 97.43 percent with the recovery of 1,195 more patients during the period.
So far, 1,513,876 people have recovered from the deadly virus infections, the DGHS added.
Covid in Bangladesh: 31 die, positivity rate drops to 4.54 per cent
Amid a declining positivity rate Covid-19 claimed 31 more lives and infected 1,233 others in the country in 24 hours till Friday morning.
The latest cases were detected after testing 27,557 samples showing a decline in the daily case positivity rate to 4.54 per cent from Thursday’s 4.61 per cent, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The case positivity rate is the lowest in around six months as the country last recorded 4.98 per cent daily case positivity rate on March 8 this year.
Read: Five girl students contract Covid in Thakurgaon school
Meanwhile, it said, the fatality rate remained static at 1.76 per cent.
On Thursday, the country recorded lowest Covid deaths of 24 since May 15 when the country saw 22 single-day deaths.
Global Covid cases near 231 million
Believe it or not, the overall number of global Covid cases is fast approaching 231 million.
According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 230, 542,888 while the death tally from the virus reached 4,727 ,498 on Friday morning.
The US has recorded 42, 667, 412 cases to date and more than 684,286 people have died so far from the virus in the country, as per the university data.
Brazil, which has been experiencing new wave of cases since January, registered 21,308,178 cases. Brazil's Covid-19 death toll has also risen to 593,018.
India's Covid-19 tally rose to 33,593, 492 on Thursday, as 31,458 new cases were registered in 24 hours across the country, as per the federal health ministry's data.
Besides, as many as 319 deaths due to the pandemic since Thursday morning took the total death toll to 446,399.
Situation in Bangladesh
Covid-19 claimed 24 more lives and infected 1,144 others in Bangladesh in 24 hours till Thursday morning.
This is the lowest death toll in the country since May 15 when the country saw 22 single-day fatalities.
The latest cases were detected after testing 24,820 samples, showing a slight fall in the daily case positivity rate from Wednesday’s 4.79 percent to 4.61 percent, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
According to DGHS, the fresh numbers of deaths and cases took the country’s total Covid-19 fatalities to 27,337 while the caseload mounted to 15,48,320. However, the mortality rate remained static at 1.77 percent.
The recovery rate increased slightly to 97.38 percent, with the recovery of 1,653 patients during the period. So far, 15,07,789 people have recovered from the deadly virus infections, the directorate added.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that the daily case positivity rate should remain at 5% or below for 14 days before mass unlocking.
However, Bangladesh eased its lockdown restrictions on August 11, even though public health experts had warned of Delta variant spread.
On September 12, after nearly 18 months, primary, secondary and higher secondary schools in Bangladesh reopened with some Covid-safety protocols in place.
Covid in Bangladesh: 24 die in 24 hours, lowest since May 15
Covid-19 killed 24 more people and infected 1,144 others in Bangladesh in 24 hours till Thursday morning.This is the lowest death toll in the country since May 15 when the country saw 22 single-day deaths.The latest cases were detected after testing 24,820 samples showing a slight fall in the daily-case positivity rate from Wednesday’s 4.79 percent to 4.61 percent, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).According to the DGHS, the fresh numbers of deaths and cases took the country’s total Covid-19 fatalities to 27,337 while the caseload mounted to 15,48,320. However, the mortality rate remained static at 1.77 percent.
Also read: 'Rich man's disease': Curious case of Covid in Dhaka slums
Global Covid cases near 227 million
The deadly coronavirus continues to spread though at a slow burn in some countries. In fact, the global Covid-19 caseload is now nearing 227 million.
The total caseload and fatalities from the virus stand at 226,995, 990 and 4,669,300, respectively, as of Friday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
So far, 5,807,211,499 Covid vaccine doses have been administered across the globe.
The US has logged 41,782,046 cases and 669,987 deaths to date, according to the JHU data.
Brazil, which has the world's second-highest pandemic death toll after the United States and the third-largest caseload after the US and India, recorded 21,069,017 cases with 589,277 fatalities, as of Thursday.
India's Covid-19 tally rose to 33,380,522 on Thursday morning, as 34,649 new cases were registered in 24 hours across the country, as per the federal health ministry data. On the other hand, the country's death toll has reached 444,278.
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh logged 51 more Covid-related deaths and 1,862 fresh cases in 24 hours till Thursday morning.
The daily case positivity rate also dropped to 5.98% on Thursday, a slight fall from Wednesday’s 6.54%, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
However, Thursday's fatalities were higher than the 35 deaths reported on Tuesday, the lowest in around three months.
The new numbers pushed the country’s Covid death tally to 27,109, while the caseload climbed to 15,38,203. Meanwhile the fatality rate remained static at 1.76%, said the DGHS.
It added that the recovery rate rose to 97.13% with the recovery of 3,549 more patients during the 24-hour period.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that the daily case positivity rate should remain at 5% or below for 14 days before mass unlocking.
Bangladesh eased its lockdown restrictions on August 11, even though public health experts had warned of the Delta variant spread.
On September 12, after nearly 18 months, primary, secondary and higher secondary schools in Bangladesh reopened with a slew of Covid-safety protocols in place.