As the pandemic rages on, the overall number of global Covid-19 cases has now surpassed 129 million.

The total case count reached 129,510,295 while the death toll from the virus mounted to 2,826,852 on Friday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU).

The US, the worst-hit country in terms of active patients and deaths, has so far recorded 30,539,844 cases and 553,120 fatalities, as per the university data.

 Brazil has logged 321,515 Covid-19 deaths, with a daily average of more than 2,500, in March, making it a global epicentre of the pandemic.

 In addition, Covid-19 cases in Brazil rose to 12,839,844 with 325,284 deaths.

India's Covid tally rose to 12,221,665 on Friday while the death toll reached 162,468, as per the figures released by the government.

 On Thursday, India reported more than 72,000 cases, its highest spike in six months, reports AP.

Six states account for more than 78% of India’s total caseload, which at 12 million is the third-highest in the world. Cases have increased six-fold in less than two months, and deaths -- a lagging indicator in the pandemic that follows hospitalisation -- are rising too.

Also read: Fighting the Second Wave: Govt seeks stricter implementation ... 

Situation in Bangladesh

For the third time in four days, Bangladesh recorded its highest daily coronavirus cases as the health authorities confirmed 6,469 new infections on Thursday afternoon.

The infection rate jumped to 22.94 percent on Thursday from 19.9 of Wednesday’s, when the country recorded 5,358 cases, the highest in many months.

On Tuesday, 5,042 cases were recorded and the number was 5,181 on Monday.

The country’s Covid caseload soared to 617,764 after it recorded its highest-ever single-day case count, according to a handout issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

Bangladesh reported its first cases on March 8 last year and confirmed the first death from the virus 10 days later.

The country has so far tested 4,698,774 samples, including 28,198 in the past 24 hours, the DGHS said.

Meanwhile, the fatalities reached 9,105 with 59 new deaths. The mortality rate slipped slightly to 1.47 percent. 

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

 Also read: Covid-19 Second Wave: Maleque seeks further steps against ...

Govt strengthens protective steps

The daily surge prompted the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to issue an 18-point directive on Monday to prevent the transmission of the virus.

On the same day, the Health Ministry proposed strict measures like partial lockdowns for some places with higher Covid-19 transmission rates.

Vaccination drive

The government launched a countrywide vaccination campaign on February 7 with doses received from the Serum Institute of India.

 Also read:Global Covid-19 cases surpass 119 million

Bangladesh inked an agreement with Serum in December last year for acquiring 30 million doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. Serum is supposed to supply the doses between January and June this year – 5 million each month.