Bangladesh recorded 60 Covid-related deaths and 3,956 new cases in 24 hours till Wednesday morning, showing an alarming sign of deterioration in the pandemic situation.
With the new figures, the death toll jumped to 13,282 while the death rate stood at 1.59 percent, said a handout of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Bangladesh’s fight to tackle the second wave of coronavirus has become tougher after the detection of the Delta variant of the virus in different parts of the country.
The higher infection rate in frontier districts and limited capacities in district hospitals have become a challenge amid the worsening situation.
The total caseload reached 8,37,247 with the new cases while the daily infection rate climbed to 16.62% in the 24-hour period.
However, the overall positivity rate stood at 13.41%.
The daily positivity rate was 14.27% on Tuesday and 14.80% on Monday.
Among the deceased, 36 were men and 24 women.
Of them, three were between 11-20 years of age, one was between 21-30, seven between 31-40, 10 between 41-50, 16 between 51-60 and 23 were above 60 years’ old, according to the handout.
Besides, eight of them were from Dhaka division, another eight from Chattogram, 17 from Rajshahi, 14 from Khulna, six from Sylhet, four from Rangpur and three from Mymensingh divisions.
The numbers were found after testing a total of 23,807 samples across the country.
Read: Biotech's Covid vaccine to get conditional approval for human trials: BMRC
Besides, 2,679 Covid-19 patients recovered in the last 24 hours.
The total number of recoveries now stands at 7,73,752, while the recovery rate at 92.42%.
Lockdown extended
The government has extended the ongoing countrywide lockdown till 15 July as the Covid-19 situation continues to worsen in the country.
However, all government, semi-government, autonomous private offices, banks and financial institutions will remain open maintaining health protocols.
Biotech vaccine to get go-ahead
The National Research Ethics Committee of Bangladesh Medical Research Council (BMRC) on Wednesday decided to approve Globe Biotech's Covid-19 vaccine, Bangavax, for human trials.
Globe Biotech will get the final nod on conducting clinical trials on humans only after meeting some conditions set by the BMRC, its director Prof Dr Ruhul Amin said this after a virtual meeting.
Read: 9 more Covid patients die in Khulna division
Bangladesh to set up international vaccine institute
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday said the government is going to set up an international vaccine institute to produce vaccines, including the Covid-19 ones, in Bangladesh.
She said the government will sign an agreement with South Korea to set up the vaccine institute and the issues relating to ratification, accession and approval of the agreement by the Cabinet are under process.
The Prime Minister said the government has taken an initiative to produce Covid-19 vaccines in the country alongside collection from foreign sources to check the Covid-19 pandemic in the country.
Hasina said government-to-government (G2G) negotiations are underway with the countries that have developed vaccines for transferring technology to this end.
14 die in Khulna, 17 in Rajshahi
Khulna continues to be one of the hardest hit frontier districts as 14 more people died of coronavirus in the district, according to the DGHS handout.
Besides, 139 patients are currently undergoing treatment at Khulna Corona Dedicated Hospital, said Dr Suhash Ranjan Haldar, the nodal person for the corona unit.
Of them, 70 people are receiving treatment in the red zone of the hospital, 21 in the yellow zone, 20 in ICU (intensive care unit), and 28 in HDU (high deficiency unit), said Dr Suhash.
Read: Bangladesh extends ‘lockdown’ till July 15
In Rajshahi, 17 more died of Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, the highest in the country during the period.
Meanwhile , director of Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital (RMCH) Brigadier General Shamim Yeazdani on Wednesday told UNB that as many as 48 people have been admitted to the corona unit of the hospital during the time.
Currently, some 344 people are undergoing treatment at the hospital against its capacity of 305 beds in the corona unit.
To deal with the pressure of Covid patients, the hospital authorities have added 34 beds, including two ICU beds, to the hospital's existing capacity, he said.
Besides, a letter has been sent to the Department of Health Services to send 15 more physicians to the hospital. Some 15 doctors have joined the hospital in the past week.
Test at home
The district administration of Bagerhat has introduced mobile Covid testing booths for collecting swab samples at the doorsteps of people.
Sheikh Sarhan Naser Tonmoy, Bagerhat-2 MP, took the initiative, following a sudden surge in Covid-19 cases in the district.
To avail of the opportunity, people have to make a call on the hotline numbers -- 01920-922229 and 01400-305405.