COVID-19
206 India returnees put in 14-day quarantine in Cumilla
A total of 206 Bangladeshis, who returned from India through the Akhaura land port in Brahmanbaria district, have been sent to Cumilla to stay in 14-day institutional quarantine, said officials.
Local administration sources said the Bangladeshi nationals returned home through Akhaura Land Port in the last five days and all of them have been kept at the eight quarantine centres in Cumilla as all the isolation centres in Brahmanbaria are full.
Read: 3 India returnees test positive for Covid in Magura
However, no one tested positive for Covid-19, Mohammad Abu Syed, Cumilla Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) told UNB on Saturday.
The returnees hail from Cumilla, Feni, Chandpur, Noakhali and Brahmanbaria districts.
Four executive magistrates and health officials are there to ensure the health protocols, said the UNO.
As India has been experiencing a new strain of Covid-19, the government has imposed restrictions along the border areas of Bangladesh.
Read:36 India returnees sent to Cumilla for institutional quarantine
According to the World Health Organisation, the Indian variant has already spread to 60 countries across the world.
The Bangladeshi citizens currently travelling to India for treatment and having visas with validity for less than 15 days could enter Bangladesh only through Benapole, Akhaura and Burimari after taking permission from Bangladesh diplomatic missions in New Delhi, Kolkata, and Agartala and with a mandatory Covid-negative certificates done through PCR test within 72 hours of entry.
Global Covid-19 cases hit 166.4 million
Covid-19 has so far infected over 166.4 million people across the world, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
As per the data, the total caseload around the globe reached 166, 438,026 while the death toll from the virus stood at 3,449,399 as of Sunday morning.
Some 1,632, 929,763 doses of Covid-19 vaccine have been administered during the mass inoculation drive till date.
The US, which remains the world’s worst hit country, has registered 33,103,118 cases while the death toll from the virus reached 589,670 until Sunday morning.
New coronavirus cases across the United States have tumbled to rates not seen in more than 11 months, sparking optimism that vaccination campaigns are stemming both severe Covid-19 cases and the spread of the virus, reports AP.
As cases, hospitalisations and deaths steadily dropped this week, pre-pandemic life in America has largely resumed.
India, which has been experiencing the staggering situation of Covid-19 cases for the last few months, has recorded 26,289,290 cases with 295,515 fatalities.
Brazil reported on Saturday 1,899 more deaths from Covid-19, raising the national count to 448,208, the Ministry of Health said.
Also read: US civil rights leader urges Biden To give 60 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to India
A total of 76,490 more infections were detected, raising the nationwide tally to 16,047,439, the ministry said.
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh logged 38 more coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours till Saturday morning, taking the country's fatalities to 12,348.
The daily infection rate rose to 8.41% from Friday's 7.22%, said the Directorate General of Health Services.
Meanwhile, 1,028 new cases were reported after testing 12,230 samples.
Bangladesh has so far reported 787,726 coronavirus cases.
Also read: India to begin clinical trials for Covd-19 vaccine in children
Vaccination drive
Bangladesh launched its vaccination drive on February 7 with Oxford-AstraZeneca doses purchased from India's Serum Institute.
The administration of the first dose has remained suspended since April 26. Also, the country, the prime recipient of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines, has suspended the registration for Covid-19 jabs due to vaccine shortage amid a delay in the timely arrival of shipments from India.
In the past 24 hours, no one received the first dose of the vaccine while 41,467 have received the second dose, said the health directorate.
Vaccine supply
The government signed an agreement with Serum for 30 million doses. But a record number of cases in India has made the delivery of the doses uncertain.
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen Friday reached out to global media to let the world know that Bangladesh is desperately looking for vaccines and ready to accept any shipment from any country.
"A large number of people in Bangladesh, who took the first dose of Oxford-AstraZeneca, could not get the second dose because we have run out of supplies," the minister said.
In response to Bangladesh’s request, China on Friday said it will send the second batch of 600,000 doses of its Covid-19 vaccine as a gift.
The foreign minister on Thursday said the government was making its best efforts to get vaccines from multiple countries – the US, China, Canada, Russia and the UK – apart from its continuous request to India to meet Bangladesh's urgent needs.
Bangladesh received 500,000 doses of China's Sinopharm vaccine as a gift on May 12. The administering of the shots will begin by May 25-26, said Health Minister Zahid Maleque.
Also, the country would receive a minimum of 106,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine under the COVAX scheme, co-led by Gavi, Maleque said on May 18.
Besides, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs Wednesday approved a proposal of the Health Services Division to import the Sinofarm Covid-19 vaccine.
Australia to provide A$5 million to help Bangladesh in Covid-19 combat
Australia has announced an additional fund of A$5 million or Tk 330 million t to support Bangladesh’s COVID-19 preparedness and response, the country’s envoy said on Saturday.
Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne has made the announcement, according to Australian High Commission in Dhaka Jeremy Bruer.
This fund will be given through the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) to procure and distribute essential supplies, including oxygen and related equipment, to help communities withstand the health and social impact of the pandemic, said the high commissioner.
The money is in addition to the A$5.7 million Australia provided last year to Bangladesh for personal protective equipment, COVID-19 awareness campaigns, and emergency food and income support.
Australia said it is also working to increase the global supply of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines, including through an A$80 million commitment to the COVAX Advance Market Commitment, of which Bangladesh is a beneficiary.
High Commissioner Jeremy Bruer said, "As one of Bangladesh's oldest friends, Australia is committed to supporting Bangladesh in its fight against COVID-19, to help ensure our shared region remains safe, stable, prosperous and resilient. Australia and our partners stand with Bangladesh in responding to the pandemic.”
Covid-19 vaccines: Commonwealth health ministers demand equal access for everyone
Commonwealth health ministers have called for swift and equal access to Covid-19 vaccines for everyone around the world.
They expressed deep concern over the stark gaps in access and delivery of doses, especially in poor countries, and called for "fair and transparent" pricing for the vaccine in a joint statement Friday on behalf of the 54 Commonwealth member countries.
Only 0.3% of the life-saving vaccine doses have been administered in 29 poor countries. About 84% of shots have been given in high and upper-middle-income countries.
Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland said: "The science is clear: vaccination works and is the clear and only sustainable route out of this pandemic for the whole world."
"The rise of new variants shows that until everyone is safe no one is safe. No plan to tackle this virus will work until everyone agrees to work together."
"We must talk with each other to move away from some stockpiling vaccines, while many low-middle income countries still do not have access to the much-needed vaccine supplies for the vulnerable populations in their countries. So, cooperation to develop a global immunisation plan to deliver equal access to vaccines must be a top priority," Patricia added.
Vaccine equity
The Commonwealth health ministers appreciated the global vaccine equity initiative "COVAX" and encouraged all partners to support government efforts on boosting vaccine confidence and immunisation drives.
Recognising the acute gaps in research and development of new tests, vaccines and therapies in the Commonwealth, they stressed enhanced collaboration with scientists, academics and business leaders.
Speaking at the meeting, the World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: "Vaccines are reducing severe disease and death in countries that are fortunate enough to have them in sufficient quantities, and early results suggest that vaccines might also drive down transmission."
"The shocking global disparity in access to vaccines remains one of the biggest risks to ending the pandemic. We seek the support of the Commonwealth in solving the global vaccine crisis by funding the ACT Accelerator, advocating for greater sharing of technology, know-how and intellectual property, and sharing doses with COVAX."
The ministers further backed a potential treaty on the fight against pandemics and a Commonwealth mechanism to share and distribute extra medical supplies such as ventilators and medicines.
They called on the heads of government to allocate resources for strengthening health systems, especially through primary healthcare, towards attaining universal health coverage.
Maintaining essential health services
New data shows 60 immunisation campaigns for other health threats are now suspended in 50 countries due to Covid-19. Such delays could cause significant avoidable mortality.
Disruptions to HIV/AIDS services, for instance, could lead to five thousand excess deaths globally.
So, the ministers committed to keeping essential health services running and sustaining the gains made towards tackling threats such as malaria, HIV/AIDS, avoidable blindness and non-communicable diseases while dealing with an influx of Covid-19 cases.
In their statement, they further voiced their support for a common framework for sovereign debt treatments, cooperation with the WHO and improved compliance with the International Health Regulations for preventing the spread of disease.
This is the second time that Commonwealth health ministers met virtually for their annual gathering due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The meeting, hosted by the Commonwealth Secretariat, took place on 20 and 21 May.
3,350 Bangladeshis return through Benapole since Apr 26; 17 test Covid positive
Despite travel restrictions and locked borders, 3,350 Bangladeshis returned through Benapole land port since April 26.
Seventeen of these India returnees have tested positive for Covid-19, said Benapole immigration officials.
Utpal Roy, medical officer of Benapole immigration health department, said people returning from India are being sent to 14-day mandatory quarantine.
Those who are already infected or getting infected later are being sent to the red zone of Jashore General Hospital’s Corona Unit, said the medical officer.
Benapole port immigration sources said most of the returnees went to India for treatment and are returning with special permission from the Deputy High Commission of Bangladesh in Kolkata.
Some of the returnees said Bangladeshis would not have gone to India for treatment if our health service was developed enough.
Officer-in-Charge of Benapole immigration check post Ahsan Habib said everyday Bangladeshis are returning from India with NOC and Indians stuck in Bangladesh are following the same procedure.
Bangladesh’s border with India has remained shut since April 26 as the number of cases soared in the neighbouring country. But the movement of cargoes has remained unaffected.
Bangladeshi citizens currently travelling to India for treatment and having visas with validity for less than 15 days are allowed to enter Bangladesh through only Benapole, Akhaura and Burimari land ports after taking permission from Bangladesh Missions in New Delhi, Kolkata, and Agartala and with Covid-negative certificates.
Ready to stand with Bangladesh, S Asian countries to defeat pandemic: China
China has said it will continue to support Bangladesh's fight against COVID-19 and is willing to facilitate the discussion of cooperation in "vaccine filling" between Chinese and Bangladeshi companies.
China also said as a "good neighbour, partner and friend" of South Asian countries, it is ready to stand with the people of all countries, including Bangladesh, until the coronavirus pandemic is defeated.
"South Asia is currently facing the severe challenges of a new round of pandemic," said State Councillor and Foreign Minister of China Wang Yi when he had a phone conversation with Bangladesh Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen on Friday evening.
Wang Yi said that the COVID-19 pandemic is the common enemy of humanity.
There is a greater need for neighbouring countries to render mutual assistance and overcome adversities, he said.
Read: Covid vaccine: China to send additional 6 lakh doses as gift
Wang Yi said that in March this year, President Xi Jinping sent a video message to an event hosted by Bangladesh in commemoration of the birth centenary of Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman and also in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the country's independence, which injected strong impetus to the development of China-Bangladesh relations.
The Chinese Foreign Minister said the two countries have always firmly supported each other on issues concerning each other's core interests.
"China will continue to support the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Bangladesh," he said.
Wang Yi hoped that the two countries will earnestly advance the Belt and Road cooperation, ensure early completion of key projects, expand cooperation in the fields of information, communication and digital economy, and create new prospects for mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Bangladesh.
Dr Momen extended congratulations on the successful Mars landing of China's probe, and his gratitude for China's invaluable support and strong assistance in Bangladesh's fight against the pandemic.
He said that Bangladesh will always adhere to the one-China principle, and continue to staunchly support China on the issues concerning Hong Kong, Taiwan and human rights.
Read: More countries approached for vaccines; talks with China at final stage: FM
Dr Momen said Bangladesh is willing to strengthen cooperation with China in pandemic control and economic recovery, and push the Bangladesh-China strategic cooperative partnership to a new level.
He also highly appreciated China's positive role on the question of Palestine recently.
Covid-19: Bangladesh sees rise in deaths as cases fall
Bangladesh logged 38 more coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours till Saturday morning, taking the country's fatalities to 12,348.
The daily infection rate rose to 8.41% from Friday's 7.22%, said the Directorate General of Health Services.
Meanwhile, 1,028 new cases were reported after testing 12,230 samples.
Bangladesh reported 26 deaths on Friday after logging around 30 deaths for consecutive four days.
The fatality rate rose to 1.57% after remaining static at 1.56% for six days.
The recovery rate stood at 92.65% as 759 people recovered in the last 24 hours. The overall recovery number is 729,798 till date.
Bangladesh has so far reported 787,726 coronavirus cases
The country has carried out 5,805,407 sample tests since reporting its first cases on March 8 last year and the first death on March 18, 2020.
Read: India suffers double blow as black fungus declared epidemic amid COVID-19 surge
Vaccination drive
Bangladesh launched its vaccination drive on February 7 with Oxford-AstraZeneca doses purchased from India's Serum Institute.
The administration of the first dose has remained suspended since April 26. Also, the country, the prime recipient of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines, has suspended the registration for Covid-19 jabs due to vaccine shortage amid a delay in the timely arrival of shipments from India.
In the past 24 hours, no one received the first dose of the vaccine while 41,467 have received the second dose, said the health directorate.
Vaccine supply update
The government signed an agreement with Serum for 30 million doses. But a record number of cases in India has made the delivery of the doses uncertain.
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen Friday reached out to global media to let the world know that Bangladesh is desperately looking for vaccines and ready to accept any shipment from any country.
"A large number of people in Bangladesh, who took the first dose of Oxford-AstraZeneca, could not get the second dose because we have run out of supplies," the minister said.
Paying heed to Bangladesh’s request, China on Friday said it will send the second batch of 600,000 doses of its COVID-19 vaccine as gift.
The foreign minister on Thursday said the government was making its best efforts to get vaccines from multiple countries – the US, China, Canada, Russia and the UK – apart from its continuous request to India to meet Bangladesh's urgent needs.
Bangladesh received 500,000 doses of China's Sinopharm vaccine as a gift on May 12. The administering of the shots will begin by May 25-26, said Health Minister Zahid Maleque.
Also, the country would receive a minimum of 106,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine under the COVAX scheme, co-led by Gavi, Maleque said May 18.
Besides, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs Wednesday approved a proposal of the Health Services Division to import the Sinofarm Covid-19 vaccine.
Global Covid cases near 166 million
The Covid-19 pandemic continues to devastate countries across the world. In fact, the overall number of corona cases is fast approaching 166 million.
The total caseload and fatalities stand at 165,881,422 and 3,438,678, respectively, as of Saturday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
Some 1,599,442,473 vaccine doses have so far been administered across the world, as per the university data.
The US, which is the world’s worst-hit country in terms of cases and deaths, has logged 33,084,800 cases and 589,222 deaths to date.
India has so far registered 26,031,991 cases with 291,331 fatalities, according to the country's Health Ministry.
Brazil has the world's second highest Covid-19 death toll, after the United States, and the third-largest caseload after the United States and India.
The country on Friday reported 2,215 more deaths from Covid-19 in 24 hours, raising the national count to 446,309, the Ministry of Health said.
Read: Global Covid cases top 165 million
The ministry said that 76,855 more infections were detected during the period, raising the nationwide tally to 15,970,949.
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh on Friday reported 26 more deaths in 24 hours, taking the country's fatality count to 12,310.
The daily infection rate rose to 8.22% from Thursday's 7.50%, said the Directorate General of Health Services.
Meanwhile, 1,504 people were reported positive in 18,294 tests carried out over the same period, taking the country's caseload to 786,698.
"The fatality number, recorded so far, is lower compared to the number of positive cases. This warrants conduction of genomic sequencing to see if any new but less virulent variant is in the offing," Dr AM Zakir Hussain, former director of the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research, told UNB.
Meanwhile, the fatality rate remained unchanged at 1.56% while the recovery rate stood at 92.67%.
Vaccination drive
Bangladesh launched its vaccination drive on February 7 with Oxford-AstraZeneca doses acquired from India's Serum Institute.
Read: Global Covid cases approach 165 million
The administration of the first dose has remained suspended since April 26. Also, the country, the prime recipient of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, has suspended the registration for Covid-19 jabs due to an acute shortage amid a delay in the timely arrival of shipments from India.
Vaccine supply update
The government signed an agreement with Serum for 30 million doses. But a record number of cases in India has now made the delivery of the doses uncertain.
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen Friday reached out to global media to let the world know that Bangladesh is desperately looking for vaccines and ready to accept any shipment from any country, including the US.
"A large number of people in Bangladesh, who took the first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, could not get the second dose because we have run out of supplies," the minister said.
Also, Dr Momen said he had requested the US government to send vaccines to Bangladesh at the earliest.
"They have agreed. However, the US Food and Drug Administration is taking much time to approve the export of AstraZeneca jabs," he said.
The minister Thursday said the government was making its best efforts to get vaccines from multiple countries – the US, China, Canada, Russia and the UK – apart from its continuous request to India to meet Bangladesh's urgent needs.
Bangladesh received five lakh China's Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine doses as a gift on May 12. The administering of the shots will begin by May 25-26, said Health Minister Zahid Maleque.
Read: Global Covid deaths near 3.4 million
Also, the country would receive a minimum of 106,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine under the COVAX initiative, Zahid Maleque said on Tuesday.
Besides, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs Wednesday approved a proposal of the Health Services Division to import the Sinofarm Covid-19 vaccine.
India's COVID-19 tally rises to 26,289,290 with over 250,000 new cases
India's COVID-19 tally rose to 26,289,290 with 257,299 new cases registered in the past 24 hours, said the federal Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Saturday.
A total of 4,194 deaths were recorded since Friday morning, taking the death toll to 295,525. The single-day deaths have once again peaked beyond the 4,000-mark for the past two days after declining to 3,874 on Thursday.
There are still 2,923,400 active cases in the country, a decrease of 104,525 in the past 24 hours. The number of active cases has been on the decline over the past few days, after a continuous surge since mid-April.
A total of 23,070,365 people have been cured and discharged from hospitals so far across the country.
Most of the states in the country have imposed night curfews and partial or complete lockdowns.
So far over 193 million vaccination doses have been administered to the people across the country, and a total of 1,458,895 vaccine doses were given on Friday alone.
Read: India’s Covid-19 hot spots on recovery road
Presently the third phase of COVID-19 vaccination is underway, covering all people aged 18 years and above.
Meanwhile, the federal government has ramped up COVID-19 testing facilities. As many as 326,484,155 tests have been conducted till Friday, out of which 2,066,285 tests were conducted on Friday alone, said the Indian Council of Medical Research on Saturday.
Three types of vaccines are being administered to people in India, including the Covishield, the Covaxin and the Russia-made Sputnik-V.
Passengers' movement through Indo-Bangla land ports to remain shut till May 31
The government has extended restrictions on the movement of passengers through land ports with India, up to May 31, as India's surge in coronavirus cases continues.
Although borders with India will remain closed to people, goods will continue to cross.
Also read: Bangladesh detects first case of Indian Coronavirus strain
However, Bangladeshi citizens, stranded in India, could enter through Benapole, Akhaura, Burimari Darshana, Hili, and Sonamasjid.
The general movement of people between Bangladesh and India, through all the other land ports, will remain suspended.
Also read: Bangladesh loses 26 more lives to Covid, toll reaches 12,310
Railroads will be encouraged for the export and import of goods between the two countries during this period.
Bangladesh citizens now stranded in India, who qualifies and are willing to return to the country, will have to submit a Covid-19 negative certificate with QR code (RT-PCR) to obtain a no-objection certificate from Bangladesh missions in New Delhi, Kolkata, and Agartala, the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission in Tripura's Agartala India said Friday.
Also read: Shutting border with India: Experts praise it as prudent decision
Earlier, the government closed the border with India for 14 days with effect from April 26 but cargoes carrying goods were allowed to operate as usual.
Later on May 8, the border suspension was extended for 14 more days.