The country’s coronavirus caseload swelled to 600,895 on Monday after the health authorities recorded 5,181 new cases in 24 hours until the morning.

Along with the high number of cases, 45 coronavirus-related deaths were also recorded, pushing the death tally to 8,949, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said in a handout.

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The latest cases were reported after testing 28,195 samples.

The infection rate jumped to 18.38 percent on Monday from 17.65 percent on Sunday.

However, the death rate stands at 1.49 percent.

During this 24-hour period, 2,077 coronavirus patients recovered. So far, 538,018 patients have made recoveries.

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Twenty-eight people died in Dhaka Division, six in Chattogram, five in Rajshahi, three in Khulna and one each in Barishal, Mymensingh and Rangpur.

So far, 5,081 people died in Dhaka division, 1,628 in Chattogram, 499 in Rajshahi, 577 in Khulna, 273 in Barishal, 317 in Sylhet, 373 in Rangpur and 201 in Mymensingh.

Bangladesh reported its first cases on March 8, 2020 and the first death on March 18 the same year.

Amid a spike in infections, the government has taken a tougher stance to fight Covid-19 transmission.

The Health Ministry sent letters to districts, directing the officials concerned to impose fines on people flouting Covid protocols.

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The country launched a countrywide vaccination drive on Feb 7. As the daily infection rate keeps rising, the government extended the closure of school and colleges until May 23.