Bangladesh saw the deaths of 20 more men and four women from Covid-19 in the last 24 hours until early Friday.

Also, 2,252 new cases were confirmed at that time, bringing the caseload to 473,991.

The fatality number reached 6,772 and the death rate stood at 1.43%, said the Directorate General of Health Services.

Bangladesh is the 26th worst-affected country in the world considering the number of cases, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

So far, 390,951 patients – 82.48% – including 2,572 new ones in the last 24 hours have recovered.

Bangladesh reported its first cases on March 8. The infection number reached the 300,000-mark on August 26. The first death was reported on March 18 and the death toll crossed 6,000 on November 4.

Up to now, 2,836,411 tests have been carried out, including 15,430 new ones. The daily infection rate rose to 14.59% and the overall rate stood at 16.71%.

Bangladesh is experiencing 2783.16 infections, 2295.57 recoveries, and 39.76 deaths per million.

Global picture

Covid-19 cases were first reported in China in December last year, and it was declared a pandemic in March.

The global death toll from the pandemic surged past 1.5 million on early Friday, according to Johns Hopkins University data.

The global cases stood at 6.51 million with the US recording most infections – 14,124,678.

The death toll in the country has reached 276,148, and health experts warn that things could get worse.

In India, the number of cases neared 1 million – 9,534,964 – and the fatality figure stood at 138,648, according to Johns Hopkins University.

Vaccines

Pfizer and BioNTech last week said they won permission for emergency use of their vaccine in Britain, the world's first Covid-19 shot backed by rigorous science.

The US and the European Union are also vetting the Pfizer shot along with a similar vaccine made by competitor Moderna Inc.

But for Bangladesh, benefitting from the two vaccines is a big challenge due to its existing cold chain system.

Last week, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved in principle a proposal of the Health Services Division to procure the Covid-19 vaccine directly from any organization through negotiations without following any bidding process.

The government said it would initially provide 30 million free doses of vaccine, selecting the recipients following the World Health Organization protocol.

It plans to procure the doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine from the Serum Institute of India.

Also read:Vaccine still a challenge for Bangladesh, many others: Dr Friedman