Delta variant
Khulna division logs 31 Covid deaths in 24 hours
Khulna division has logged 31 new Covid-related deaths in 24 hours till Tuesday morning, as the Delta variant of the deadly coronavirus continues to wreak havoc across the country.
According to the health director's office, eight people died in Khulna, seven each in Jashore and Kushtia, four in Jhenaidah, three in Meherpur and one each in Chuadanga and Magura districts.
Read:Khulna div registers another 40 Covid deaths, 880 cases
The total death toll in the division has now reached 2,485, officials said.
Besides, some 946 new Covid infections have been detected in 10 districts of the division in the past 24 hours, pushing up the total cases to 96,131.
Earlier, 26 people died of Covid-19 in the division on Friday, while 1,373 people were found infected with the virus.
Read: Khulna division sees 46 Covid deaths amid deepening crisis
In Khulna division, the first case of Covid-19 was detected in Chuadanga on March 19, 2020.
So far, 72,872 people have been recovered from Covid in the division.
19 more die of Covid at Rajshahi hospital
As many as 19 more people have died of Covid-related reasons at Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital (RMCH) in the past 24 hours, health officials said on Tuesday.
While 11 of them were confirmed Covid-19 patients, seven showed symptoms of the virus, said hospital director Brigadier General Shamim Yeazdani.
Read:Rajshahi sees 18 more Covid-19 deaths in 24 hrs
Besides, one more died due to post-Covid complications during this period, he added.
Of the deceased, seven were from Rajshahi, four from Chapainawabganj, five from Natore, two from Naogaon and one from Pabna. While nine of them were men, the remaining were women.
Shamim said that 47 people have been admitted to the corona unit of the hospital in the past 24 hours. On the other hand, some 30 people were discharged from the hospital after recovery during the period.
Read:17 more die of Covid at Rajshahi hospital
Besides, some 392 people are currently undergoing treatment in the 513-bed corona unit of the hospital.
RMCH has been one of the most stretched hospitals in the country during the second wave of Covid-19, particularly since the latter part of May when the deadly Delta variant of the virus was identified in multiple samples of Rajshahi division.
Global Covid cases near 199 million
The overall number of global Covid cases is fast approaching the 199-million mark as different countries continue their battle against the deadlier Delta variant of coronavirus amid slow vaccination rate.
According to US-based Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 198,891,340 while the death toll from the virus reached 4,235,449 on Tuesday morning.
So far, 4,146,057,456 vaccine doses have been administered across the globe.
Read:Covid vaccination reduces chances of hospitalization, mortality: IEDCR study
The US, which is the world's worst-hit country in terms of both cases and deaths, has so far logged 35,131,393 cases. Besides, 613,679 people have lost their lives in the US to date, as per the JHU data.
According to AP, the US on Monday finally reached President Joe Biden’s goal of getting at least one Covid-19 shot into 70% of American adults -- a month late and amid a fierce surge by the Delta variant that is swamping hospitals and leading to new mask rules and mandatory vaccinations around the country.
Brazil recorded 389 more Covid-19 deaths in the past 24 hours, raising its national death toll to 557,223, the health ministry said on Monday.
Meanwhile, the total caseload rose to 19,953,501 after 15,143 new cases were detected.
India's Covid-19 tally rose to 31,695,958 on Monday as 40,134 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, showed the federal health ministry's latest data.
Besides, as many as 422 deaths due to the pandemic have been reported since Sunday morning, taking the total death toll to 424,773.
Although the situation in Europe is improving, globally, it is worsening as the Delta variant of Covid-19 has now been detected in 124 territories worldwide, says the World Health Organization (WHO).
Read: Govt has set up 16,000 Covid beds since the beginning of pandemic: Zahid Maleque
Situation in Bangladesh
The scale of the Covid-19 pandemic in Bangladesh looks to be overwhelming as the country added 246 fatalities to its national tally on Monday, reporting over 200 single-day fatalities for the last nine days.
The rapid rise in cases and fatalities, driven by the Delta variant, shows the worst days of the pandemic are far from over here since the pace of hospitalisation across the country remains relentless.
The Covid-19 infections are at their peak now, with 14,241 new cases reported on an average each day.
Bangladesh recorded 15,989 new cases on Monday after testing 53,462 samples, up from 13,862 logged on July 30.
The country reported the highest daily Covid-19 fatality number – 258 – on July 27 and 16,230 infections the next day.
There have been 1,280,317 infections and 21,262 coronavirus-related deaths here since the pandemic began, according to the Directorate General of Health Services.
Meanwhile, the daily test positivity rate fell to 29.91% from Sunday's 29.97%, while the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a 5% or below rate.
However, the recovery rate rose to 86.60%, and the case fatality remained unchanged at 1.65% compared to the same period.
Read: Covid in Bangladesh: Seniors far more likely to face the worst
Amid growing concerns about the highly infectious Delta variant, Dhaka division reported the highest 76 deaths, Chattogram 64, Khulna 30, Rajshahi 22, Barishal 16, Sylhet and Rangpur 14 each, and Mymensingh 10.
So far, Bangladesh has administered at least 13,459,811 doses of Covid vaccines – enough to have vaccinated around 4% of the country's population, assuming every person needs two doses.
Logging highest 6,182 deaths and 336,226 new cases, July has become the most fatal month since the reporting of first Covid cases in the country in March 2020.
Covid getting harsher in Bangladesh; kills 246 more
The scale of Covid-19 pandemic in Bangladesh looks to be overwhelming as the country added 246 fatalities to its national tally on Monday, reporting over 200 single-day fatalities for the last nine days.
The rapid rise in cases and fatalities, driven by the Delta variant, shows the worst days of the pandemic are far from over here since the pace of hospitalization across the country remains relentless.
The Covid-19 infections are at their peak now, with 14,241 new cases reported on average each day.
Bangladesh recorded 15,989 new cases on Monday after testing 53,462 samples, up from 13,862 logged on July 30.
Also read: Covid vaccination reduces chances of hospitalization, mortality: IEDCR study
Global Covid cases top 198 mln
The overall number of global Covid cases surpassed 198-million mark as different countries continue their battle against deadlier variants of coronavirus amid slow vaccination rate.
Although the situation in Europe is improving, globally it is worsening as the Delta variant of Covid-19 has now been detected in 124 territories worldwide, says the World Health Organization (WHO).
Read: 'Moderate, severe forms predominant for Delta strain of Covid'
According to the US-based Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count reached 198,283,776 while the death toll from the virus stood at 4,224,015 on Monday morning.
So far, 4,112,844,213 vaccine doses have been administered across the world.
The US, which is the world's worst-hit country in terms of both cases and deaths, has so far logged 35,001,589 cases. Besides, 613,223 people have lost their lives in the US to date, as per the JHU data.
Brazil registered 464 more COVID-19 deaths in the past 24 hours, raising its national death toll to 556,834, the health ministry said on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the total caseload rose to 19,938,358 with detection of 20,503 new cases.
Brazil currently has the world's second-highest pandemic death toll after the United States and the third-largest caseload after the United States and India.
The South American country is experiencing a new wave of infections, which has overwhelmed hospitals, said the ministry.
Read: 'Different levels of antibodies needed for protection from Covid strains'
India's COVID-19 tally rose to 31,655,824 on Sunday as 41,831 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, showed the federal health ministry's latest data.
As many as 541 deaths were recorded since Saturday morning, taking the death toll to 424,351.
Situation in Bangladesh
With the Delta variant of Covid-19 tearing through Bangladesh, the country reported 231 more deaths in 24 hours till Sunday morning.
Besides, 14,844 people came out positive for the virus after the test of 49,529 samples, said a handout issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
It said the fresh cases took Bangladesh’s total fatality to 20,916 while the caseload to 1,264,328.
Meanwhile, the daily test positivity rate marked a negligible fall to 29.97% from Saturday’s 30.24 %, while the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a 5% or below rate.
However, the recovery rate rose to 86.47% from the previous day’s 86.29 % and the case fatality rate fell to 1.65% from last day’s 1.66 %, said the DGHS media release.
Read: Bangladesh faces harder days as Covid kills 231 more
During the 24-hour period, 15,054 patients recovered from the fatal disease.
Logging highest 6,182 deaths and 336,226 new cases, July has become the most fatal month since the reporting of first Covid cases in the country in March, 2020.
Delta variant: Fauci warns of more 'pain and suffering' ahead
Dr. Anthony Fauci warned Sunday that more “pain and suffering” is on the horizon as COVID-19 cases climb again and officials plead with unvaccinated Americans to get their shots.
Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease expert, also said he doesn’t foresee additional lockdowns in the U.S. because he believes enough people are vaccinated to avoid a recurrence of last winter. However, he said not enough are inoculated to “crush the outbreak” at this point.
Read:Global Covid situation worsening as cases near 198 million
Fauci’s warning comes days after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed course to recommend that even vaccinated people return to wearing masks indoors in parts of the U.S. where the delta variant is fueling infection surges. With the switch, federal health officials have cited studies showing vaccinated people can spread the virus to others.
Most new infections in the U.S. continue to be among unvaccinated people. So-called breakthrough infections can occur in vaccinated people, and though the vast majority of those cause mild or no symptoms, the research shows they can carry about the same amount of the coronavirus as those who did not get the shots.
“So we’re looking, not, I believe, to lockdown, but we’re looking to some pain and suffering in the future because we’re seeing the cases go up, which is the reason why we keep saying over and over again, the solution to this is get vaccinated and this would not be happening,” Fauci said on ABC’s “This Week.”
According to data through July 30 from Johns Hopkins University, the seven-day rolling average for daily new cases in the U.S. rose from 30,887 on July 16 to 77,827 on July 30. The seven-day rolling average for the country’s daily new deaths rose over the same period from 253 on July 16 to 358 on July 30, though death reports generally lag weeks after infections and even longer after hospitalizations.
Currently, 58% of Americans 12 years and older are fully vaccinated, according to the CDC’s data tracker.
Read: Global Covid cases top 197mn as Delta variant presents new challenges
However, people are “getting the message” and more are rolling up their sleeves amid the threat of the delta variant, according to the director of the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Francis Collins said on CNN’s “State of the Union” that vaccinations are up 56% in the U.S. in the last two weeks.
Louisiana, which has the most new cases per capita among states in the past 14 days, has seen vaccinations up threefold over that period, Collins said.
“That’s what desperately needs to happen if we are going to get this delta variant put back in its place, because right now it’s having a pretty big party in the middle of the country,” Collins said.
Collins also said that even with the prevalence of the delta variant, the shots are working “extremely well” and reduce a person’s risk of serious illness and hospitalization “25-fold.” The guidance for vaccinated people to start wearing masks indoors again in certain places with worsening outbreaks, he said, is mostly meant to protect unvaccinated and immunocompromised people.
The CDC has also recommended indoor mask-wearing for all teachers, staff, students and visitors at schools nationwide, regardless of vaccination status.
China logs 75 more Covid cases as Delta cluster expands
China reported 75 new Covid-19 cases on the mainland Sunday, up from 55 logged a day earlier, including new locally transmitted cases across eight provinces.
The wave is part of an expanding Covid-19 Delta variant outbreak in the country that is becoming increasingly severe, following months of little to no locally transmitted cases.
China's current case tally stands at 1,022, with no new deaths reported. The country has reported 93,005 infections since the outbreak began.
China administered over 1.6 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines up to July 30.
Read: Global Covid situation worsening as cases near 198 million
The current wave of Covid-19 in China started in the eastern city of Nanjing, when nine airport cleaners at the Lukou International Airport tested positive during routine testing on July 20.
Viral genome sequencing has found all strains to be the fast-spreading Delta variant of the Covid-19 virus, officials confirmed.
Variants are continuing their progression, as the Alpha variant was seen in 180 countries, territories or areas, and 13 new countries, territories or areas reported cases of the Delta variant.
While the Alpha variant is still detected more often than its counterpart, the Delta variant is believed by the World Health Organization to be 50% more transmissible and might become the dominant form of the virus in the next few months.
Rajshahi sees 18 more Covid-19 deaths in 24 hrs
Eighteen more Covid patients have died at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) in 24 hours till Sunday morning, health officials said.
Read: 13 more die of Covid at Rajshahi hospital
Six of the patients died of Covid-19 while seven died with symptoms of the virus and the remaining died with post-Covid complications, said Director General of the hospital Brigadier General Shamim Yazdani.
Besides, six of them were from Rajshahi district, four from Natore, one each from Chapainawabganj and Kushtia and three each from Naogaon and Pabna districts.
Besides, 140 people have tested positive for Covid at the hospital during the 24-hour period. Some 428 samples were tested in two laboratories of the district during the period, the director said.
Read: Rajshahi hospital sees 18 more Covid deaths in 24 hrs
Currently, 418 patients are undergoing treatment at the hospital which has 513 beds.
RMCH has been one of the most stretched hospitals in the country during the second wave of Covid-19, particularly since the latter part of May when the deadly Delta variant of the virus was identified in multiple samples in Rajshahi division.
Global Covid situation worsening as cases near 198 million
The overall number of global Covid cases is fast approaching 198 million, as the world continues to battle against the devastating second wave of the pandemic.
Although the situation in Europe is improving, globally it is worsening as the Delta variant of Covid-19 has now been detected in 124 territories worldwide, says the World Health Organization (WHO).
According to the US-based Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 197,767, 859 while the death toll from the virus reached 4,215,888 on Sunday morning.
Read: Global Covid cases top 197mn as Delta variant presents new challenges
So far, 4,078,901,841 vaccine doses have been administered across the world.
The US, which is the world's worst-hit country in terms of both cases and deaths, has so far logged 34,975,540 cases. Besides, 613,135 people have lost their lives in the US to date, as per the JHU data.
Brazil registered 910 more Covid-19 deaths in the past 24 hours, raising its national death toll to 556,370, the health ministry said on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the total caseload rose to 19,917,855 after 37,582 new cases were detected.
India's Covid-19 tally rose to 31,613,993 on Saturday as 41,649 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, showed the federal health ministry's latest data.
Besides, as many as 593 deaths due to the pandemic since Friday morning took the total death toll to 423,810.
Situation in Bangladesh
As health authorities scramble to prevent the spread of the Delta variant, Bangladesh added 218 fatalities to its national tally on Saturday.
The country registered over 200 single-day fatalities for the last six days as it is fighting a horrific wave of the pandemic that overwhelmed its healthcare systems.
Read: Covid kills 218 more in Bangladesh as its catastrophe continues
The country recorded 9,369 new cases on Saturday after testing 30,980 samples, and reported the highest daily Covid-19 fatality number – 258 – on July 27 and 16,230 infections the next day, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
There have been 1,249,484 positive cases and 20,685 coronavirus-related deaths here since the pandemic began, the DGHS said.
Astrazeneca’s fresh rollout
On a positive note, Bangladesh will resume vaccination with Astrazeneca shots within the next few days, said Health Minister Zahid Maleque.
“We’ll resume vaccination with Astrazeneca jabs within the next 2-1 days. Those who failed to take the second dose after getting the first one will be able to get it now,” he said.
He said the government has an overall stock of 2 crore 60 lakh vaccine doses now.
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen and Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Saturday received the second consignment of AstraZeneca vaccine doses from Japan under the COVAX facility.
Read: Covid-19: What life is like when hospitals refuse admission!
The second consignment contains 7,81,320 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine.
A cargo flight of Cathay Pacific that carried the vaccine doses from Japan landed at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 3:15 pm.
The third consignment that will contain 6,16,780 doses of the vaccine is scheduled to arrive here on August 3.
Global Covid cases top 197mn as Delta variant presents new challenges
As the mass vaccination rates lags, the second wave of the pandemic continues to spread fast with the global Covid-19 caseload sugaring past 197-million mark.
Vaccination rates across the world continue to lag largely for short supply of vaccine jabs and widespread disinformation and misinformation campaigns.
According to the Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total global caseload and fatalities stand at 197, 309, 601 and 4,207,721, respectively, as of Saturday morning.
So far, 4, 042,614,173 vaccine doses have been administered across the globe.
The US, which is the world's worst-hit country in terms of both cases and deaths, has so far logged 34,945,224 cases, according to JHU.
Besides, 613,012 people have lost their lives in the US to date.
Brazil currently has the world's second-highest pandemic death toll after the United States, and the third-largest caseload after the United States and India.
The South American country has recorded 19,880,273 cases with 555,460 deaths.
India's COVID-19 tally rose to 31,572,344 on Saturday morning while the death toll mounted to 423,217.
READ: Global Covid cases surpass 196 million
Situation In Bangladesh
As Bangladesh races to head off a surge in Covid-19 cases driven by the Delta variant, the country added 212 fatalities to its national tally on Friday, up from 166 logged a week earlier.
The country has been shattering the records of daily cases and deaths almost every other day, reporting over 200 single-day fatalities for the last six days as it tries to prevent the spread of the Delta variant.
The rapid rise in cases and fatalities in July is enough to set off alarm bells, showing the pandemic is far from slowing down in Bangladesh.
The Covid-19 infections are at their peak now, with 12,293 new cases reported on average each day, plunging the country into uncertainty.
As the worst days of the pandemic are not over, Bangladesh recorded 13,862 new cases on Friday after testing 45,044 samples, up from 6,364 logged a week earlier on 23 July.
The country reported the highest daily Covid-19 fatality number – 258 – on July 27 and 16,230 infections the next day.
There have been 1,240,115 infections and 20,467 coronavirus-related deaths here since the pandemic began, according to the Directorate General of Health Services.
READ: Global Covid cases near 196 million
So far, Bangladesh has administered at least 12,850,834 doses of Covid vaccines – enough to have vaccinated around 3.3% of the country's population, assuming every person needs two doses.