The death tally rose to 3,438 with 39 new deaths, announced Dr Nasima Sultana, Additional Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), at a regular online briefing.

Of the victims, 79.14 percent are men and 20.86 percent are women. 

Bangladesh’s fatality rate stands at 1.3 percent while the recovery rate is 57.7 percent. The country reported its first cases on March 8 and the first death on March 18.

Labs around the country have conducted 12,73,168 tests so far – including 12,849 new tests – and found 20.46 percent of the samples to be positive.

Nasima said 2,067 more patients have recovered, bringing the total recoveries to 150,437.

The latest fatalities include a child below the age of 10. Twenty-three of the victims are aged between 51 and 70 years.

Twelve of the victims died in Dhaka, six in Khulna, seven in Chattogram, eight in Rajshahi three in Mymensingh, one in Rangpur and two in Barishal division.

Read Also: Covid-19: Bangladesh reports 2,487 new cases, 34 deaths

‘Precautions only way to tackle coronavirus’

Coronavirus cases were first reported in China in December last year. In March, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it a pandemic.

There are now over 19.7 million confirmed COVID-19 cases globally, with more than 729,000 fatalities and 12 million recoveries, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.

The United States currently has the highest number of confirmed cases (5,044,864) and deaths (162,938). Brazil is the second worst-hit country with 3,035,422 cases and 101,049 deaths.

Neighbouring India has the third-highest number of coronavirus cases (2,215,074) and fifth-highest death toll (44,386), according to JHU.

Bangladesh has been recording a high number of cases in recent weeks and many fear that the number will increase if more tests are conducted.

The government has requested the people to properly follow the health guidelines but the people are hardly paying any heed. Masks, which helps reduce the transmission of the virus, are not worn by everyone and people hardly maintain rules of physical distancing.

DGHS official Nasima reiterated that taking precautions is the only way to tackle Covid-19 for now and urged everyone to follow the hygiene rules.