Amid a global scare over Omicron, the new strain of Covid-19, the overall number of coronavirus cases has surged past 274 million.
According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 274,184,518 while the death toll from the virus reached 5,349,691 till Sunday morning.
The US has recorded 50,772,786 cases to date and more than 806,265 people have died so far from the virus in the country, as per the university data.
READ: Global Covid cases top 273 million
Brazil, which has been experiencing a new wave of cases since January, registered 22,204,941 cases as of Friday, while its Covid death toll rose to 617,395.
India's Covid-19 tally rose to 34,740,275 on Sunday and deaths from the pandemic since Saturday morning took the total death toll to 477,422. Till Saturday, 126 cases of the Omicron variant were reported in India.
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh’s Covid-19 daily case positivity rate dropped to 0.87 per cent with the logging of 122 fresh cases and 4 more deaths in 24 hours till Saturday morning.
On Friday, the daily-case positivity rate stood at 1.17 per cent registering 191 new cases.
The total fatalities rose to 28,047 while the caseload mounted to 15,80, 872 with the fresh ones, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Three of the latest fatalities were men and another was a woman.
Meanwhile, the mortality rate remained static at 1.77 per cent during the period.
The fresh cases were detected after testing 13,971 samples, said the DGHS.
Besides, the recovery rate increased a bit to 97.76 per cent with the recovery of 144 more patients during the 24-hour period.
READ: Global Covid cases near 273 million
On December 9, Bangladesh again logged zero Covid-related death after nearly three weeks as the pandemic is apparently showing signs of easing.
The country reported this year’s first zero Covid-related death in a single day on November 20 along with 178 infections since the pandemic broke out in Bangladesh in March 2020.
Bangladesh reported the highest number of daily fatalities of 264 on August 5 this year, while the highest daily caseload was 16,230 on July 28 this year.
So far, 15,45, 403 Covid-19 infected people have recovered.
Booster dose in Bangladesh
Covid-19 booster doses will be administered to health workers on trial basis from Sunday, said Dr Abu Hossain Md Mainul Ahsan, the Civil Surgeon of Dhaka district.
“Initially, the booster doses will be administered on a low scale as a caution. After observing the effects of the vaccine for a few days, it’ll be rolled out for others,” Dr Mainul Ahsan told journalists on Saturday in a virtual briefing.
Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Saturday said the booster doses will be rolled out from the Bangladesh College of Physicians and Surgeons (BCPS) at city’s Mohakhali from Sunday morning.
Dr Mainul Ahsan said, “Following the health minister’s directive, we’re ready to start administering the shots from tomorrow. There’ll be no shortage of jabs.”
Dr Ahsan went on saying, “Initially, doctors, nurses and health workers will get the doses, and senior citizens will get it in the next phase, keeping their comorbidities in mind.” said the Civil Surgeon.
He said the announcement to administer the Covid-19 booster dose depends on the capability and the vaccine supply.
As the country’s vaccine supply reached the maximum level, Dr Ahsan said, the government has now decided to administer a third booster dose followed by the first and second ones.