Seven more people died from coronavirus in Bangladesh in the last 24 hours on Sunday, taking the death toll in the country to 91.   Besides, a record number of 312 people tested positive for coronavirus during the period, taking the number of such cases in the country to 2,456.   Health Minister Zahid Maleque came up with the disclosure joining the daily health bulletin of the institute.   In the last 24 hours, he said, 2,634 samples of corona suspects were tested across the country.

The minister said nine more patients have made recovery from the disease in the last 24 hours.

He said the steady rate of increasing cases is a good sign for Bangladesh.  "In the last few days, the daily increase has been limited to around 300. If it remains the same in the coming days, then we’re lucky. If it increases, then it’ll be terrible for everyone."
 
He also mentioned that the ICU support is not proving to be helpful for critical patients.
 
"I say it with sorrow that the ICU support outside Dhaka for the critically ill patients is not working well. Eight of the nine deceased across the country who were given the ventilation support have died." 
 
Zahid Maleque noted that people are still making gatherings outside, and he deplored the mass gathering in Brahmanbaria on Saturday. "Such gathering is unacceptable and the administration there have failed to ensure that."

He also urged religious leaders to convey messages to people about social distancing. 

The minister reiterated that Bangladesh is still in a better condition than many other countries considering the seventh week of infection. 
 
Zahid Maleque, however, mentioned that community transmission is increasing across the country.

 
 
He emphasised increasing the number of tests across the country.  "We should conduct more tests. It’ll enable us to identify patients, provide treatment and prevent infection."  
 
The minister also pointed out that the community transmission is increasing because people are not staying indoors. "Most of the infected people identified in different areas of the country have travelled from Dhaka and Narayanganj," he said. 
 
"Coronavirus is spreading from many areas. The worst hit areas include Narayanganj, Mirpur, Basabo, Gazipur, Mymensingh and Keraniganj. Many people are still heading to other parts of Bangladesh from these areas," said the minister. 
 
He noted that authorities need to be stricter to stop this practice. 
 
"The task of restricting people’s movement should be strengthened further. Those who are in charge need to carry out that responsibility more strictly. Because of these, coronavirus patients are increasing in other districts," the minister added.