According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count reached 118,455,993 while the death toll climbed to 2,628,543 on Friday.

People in the US are getting vaccinated and the number of those is increasing day by day, but the country remains the world’s worst hit both in terms of cases and deaths.

Also read:Over 64% Bangladeshis want to take Covid vaccine: Survey

The country has so far recorded 29,214,421 cases and 530,712 fatalities, as per the university data.

Brazil’s death toll and caseload now stand at 272,889 and 11,277,717, respectively, according to the university.

Brazil has the world's second-highest Covid-19 death toll, after the United States, and the third-largest caseload after the United States and India.

India recorded 11,285,561 Covid cases till Friday morning, while the death toll from the virus crossed 158,189.

In terms of cases, India is counted as the second worst-hit country while in number of deaths, it holds the fourth position.

Situation in Bangladesh

Bangladesh is seeing a continuous rise in the number of daily Covid-19 infections as it recorded 1,051 fresh ones in the past 24 hours till Thursday morning.

Six more coronavirus-related deaths were reported during the period, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

Though the daily infection rate fell slightly to 5.82 percent from 5.98 percent on Wednesday, the number of patients rose to 1,051 Thursday from Wednesday’s 1,018. The mortality rate also came down to 1.53 percent from 1.54 percent in the past few weeks, the DGHS said in a handout.

Also read:Covid-19 in Bangladesh: 8 more die, 326 get infected

With the latest figures, the Covid-19 fatalities have climbed to 8,502 and the total infections to 554,156, the handout added.

Besides, it said, 1,307 people recovered from the virus infections during the period. So far, 507,920 patients (91.66 percent) have recovered.

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

Health authorities have so far tested 42,16,028 samples, including 18,058 in the past 24 hours.

Vaccination drive in Bangladesh

Bangladesh launched its nationwide Covid-19 vaccination drive on February 7.

By Wednesday, 41,18,953  people received the first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. The second dose has to be taken between 8 and 12 weeks of the first one.

The government is providing the vaccine for free. It signed an agreement with India's Serum Institute for acquiring 30 million doses of the vaccine.

The institute will provide five million doses every month between January and June.

Those who are 40 or above can register for getting the jab at www.surokkha.gov.bd as the on-spot registration system has been revoked.

Also read:Covid cases keep rising in Bangladesh; 6 more die

Health Minister Zahid Maleque has said that the age limit for getting the vaccine will be revised once more doses are available in the country.