With Coronavirus and its new variant posing a real danger to the public health in Bangladesh, the country came up with another shocking figure of 261 fresh deaths on Thursday.

This is the second-highest single day deaths from the viral disease in Bangladesh as Covid-19, fueled by the deadly Delta variant, continues to wreak havoc in the country.

The country has been reporting over 200 single-day fatalities for the last two weeks as it races to head off a surge in Covid-19 cases driven by the unrelenting Delta variant.

After weathering the first wave of the virus, Bangladesh's hospitals are almost overwhelmed.

The country registered 8,136 new cases on Saturday after testing 31,714 samples. It reported the highest daily Covid-19 fatality of 264 on August 5 and 16,230 infections on July 28.

As more people are falling sick with Covid-19 and dying, hospitals in Dhaka and other cities are running out of beds.

There have been 1,343,396 infections and 22,411 coronavirus-related deaths here since the pandemic began, according to the Directorate General of Health Services.

Meanwhile, the daily test positivity rate fell to 25.65 % from 26.25% on Friday, while the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a 5% or below rate.

However, the recovery rate rose to 88.89 % from 87.81% with  16,383 patients recovering from Covid-19 during this time.

Also read: Covid vaccine seekers overwhelm Suhrawardy Hospital; chaos all around

Besides, the case fatality too increased to 1.67% in the last 24 hours.

Of the recent deaths, 101 people died in Dhaka alone, the highest ever in the division.

Deaths in Bangladesh’s capital on a single day crossed the grim landmark of 100 for the first time since the pandemic began.

Besides, 62 people died in Chattogram division, 45 in Khulna, 16 in Mymensingh, 12 in Barishal, 10 in Rangpur, eight in Rajshahi, and seven died in Sylhet.

Of them, 152 were male and 109  female.

Dissecting their age, one was between 11-20, eight between 21-30, 15 between 31-40, 28 between 41-50, 64 between 51-60, 76 between 61-70,  44 between 71-80, 16 between 81-90 and nine were between 91-100 years of age.

Delta variant symptoms

There are many variants of SARS-CoV-2 that can cause Covid. Each variant is the result of a random mutation of the original virus.

The main variant of concern now in Bangladesh, and indeed worldwide, is the Delta variant. This variant spreads more quickly than the original virus, increasing the number of hospitalisations or deaths.

The 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.

Also read: Bangladesh to procure 6 crore Sinopharm vaccine doses: Minister

Former Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research director Dr AM Zakir Hussain said, "The Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 is very different in many ways from its earlier variants. It shows symptoms like a mild cold, runny nose and mild fever with head and body aches. The variant's incubation period is four days – one or two days shorter than the earlier variants."

"Delta's rate of multiplication is faster, and volume in the nose is higher. It can directly go to the lungs. The variant's spike is 75% efficient in sticking to its docking site in human host cells in comparison to the Alpha variant's 50%."

"So, the variant causes higher infections, overt manifestations and deaths. Due to similarities with common colds and fevers, patients take a relatively long time to understand if they are suffering from a seasonal cold or not and seek medical attention late. The other reason for high deaths from the variant is the paucity of ICUs. Vaccines are less effective in preventing second or third time infection from the Delta variant," he added.

Warning signs

Mild to moderate cases of Covid-19 may not require immediate medical attention. However, some Covid-19 cases cause severe symptoms, which typically emerge after around a week. People with these symptoms must seek immediate medical attention.

It is critical to contact a health professional for symptoms that include difficulty in breathing, chest pain or pressure, confusion, difficulty in remaining conscious, discoloured skin, lips, or nails, according to the CDC.