Bangladesh recorded 98 coronavirus-related deaths in the past 24 hours as the deadly second wave of the virus overwhelms hospitals and pushes the health sector to its limits.

The virus also infected 4,014 others during the period, the Directorate General of Health Services said in a handout.

Coronavirus deaths now stand at 10,781 with a mortality rate of 1.46 percent, according to DGHS. The daily infection rate fell to 14.63 percent from Wednesday’s 15.07 percent.

On Monday, the country had broken all the previous records of Covid-19 deaths registering 112 fatalities. It saw over 100 deaths on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Bangladesh reported its first coronavirus cases on March 8 last year and the first death on the 18th of that month.

Health authorities have so far confirmed 736,074 cases. Among them, 642,449 people - 87.28 percent of all patients – have recovered.

Also read:Covid-19 vaccine not a 'silver bullet': WHO

1.2 mln infections in April

April has been the deadliest month since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic with 1,735 deaths and 121,306 new cases recorded in the last 22 days.

The virus claimed 568 lives in January this year, 281 in February and 638 in March.

Dhaka division remains the worst-hit region, recording most of the deaths – 6,292 or 58.36 percent.

Fifty five of the 98 deaths reported today are from Dhaka division and 20 from Chattogram. Six others were reported in Rajshahi, five each in Khulna and Mymensingh, four in Sylhet and three in Rangpur divisions.

Bangladesh has so far tested 5,277,112 samples, including 27,787 in the last 24 hours.

Lockdown extension

A rise in infection prompted the government to go for lockdown from early April but the weeklong lockdown turned out to be lax. From April 11, the government imposed a ‘strict lockdown’ and extended it to April 28.

Also read:No risk of contracting Covid-19 due to vaccination: DGHS

It seems to be working. The number of new cases has come down significantly from over 7,000 to 4,000.

Vaccination campaign

A countrywide vaccination drive, launched on Feb 7, is underway.

Bangladesh signed an agreement with the Serum Institute of India Pvt Ltd for 30 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine. But a record number of cases in India is changing the scenario fast.

Dhaka says it is in talks with other countries. Foreign Minister AK Momen on Thursday assured the people that there will be adequate doses.

“We don’t have to worry about it … we’re okay,” he said.

So far, 5,778,686 people have received the first dose and 1,967,975 have got their second jab, according to official figures.