As many as nine Covid-19 patients have died at Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital in the past 24 hours, health officials said on Thursday.

Deputy Director of Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital, Saiful Ferdous, said, “The nine patients were undergoing treatment at the hospital. They succumbed to coronavirus after their condition worsened."

Read:Thakurgaon seals border areas to contain Covid

“Of the deceased, five were from Chapainawabganj district, two from Rajshahi, and one each from Naogaon and Pabna districts,” he added.

With the fresh deaths, the district's fatality count has reached 77 people since May 24.

Meanwhile, the hospital authorities are also struggling to deal with the sudden surge in Covid cases in the district. As many as 224 Covid-19 patients are currently undergoing treatment at the hospital. Of the 224, some 101 are from Rajshahi district and 96 from Chapainawabganj district.

In the past 24 hours, some 29 people have been admitted to the hospital with Covid-19 symptoms. Of them, 14 are from Rajshahi district, 11 from Chapainawabganj, three from Naogaon and one from Pabna district, said sources at the hospital.

“Only critical Covid patients are being admitted to the hospital,” said Saiful.

Read: Bangladesh’s frontier districts brace for Covid ‘catastrophe’: Experts

It may be mentioned here that authorities in some border districts have already imposed strict restrictions for a week to contain the spread of coronavirus. This was after the government recently empowered the district authorities to take a call on lockdown restrictions in their respective areas.

Rajshahi Deputy Commissioner Abdul Jalil announced the restrictions on Wednesday afternoon. No one will be allowed to step out of the house from 7 pm to 8 am in Rajshahi until June 9 unless there's an emergency.

All business establishments will remain shut and no vehicles are allowed to ply on the roads except those providing emergency services. However, restaurants and traders can provide their services online.

Situation in Bangladesh

Bangladesh on Wednesday recorded 34 new coronavirus-related deaths and some 2,000 fresh cases in 24 hours.

Health authorities detected 1,988 new cases after testing 20,259 samples during the period. The number of tests has also increased over the past one week.

Read: Covid protocols go for a toss at Sonahat Land Port

With the new cases, the total caseload has risen to 8,04,293,  according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

The new deaths have pushed up the fatality count to 12,694.

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