With the Covid-19 situation worsening around the world by the day, the global death toll from the virus topped 2.99 million on Saturday.
According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count and fatalities now stand at 139,670,541 and 2,997,062, respectively.
The US remains the world's worst-hit country, with 31,575,138 cases and 566,212 deaths, as per the university data.
The US is averaging nearly 70,000 new daily coronavirus cases, up from about 53,000 just four weeks ago, CDC Director Dr Rochelle Walensky was quoted by AP as saying.
Hospitalisations have been trending higher, and deaths were up for the third day in a row. Along with relaxed restrictions on gatherings and indoor dining, the emergence of variants that spread more easily is part of the reason for the worsening trend.
Amid the devastating Covid-19 situation in India, the country’s total caseload has now surpassed 14,291,917. The death toll from the virus has topped 174,308, according to official figures released Friday.
According to the university data, India is counted as the second-worst country in terms of cases after the US and fourth in terms of deaths after the US, Brazil and Mexico.
Brazil has been experiencing a new wave of cases since January and it has the world's second-largest pandemic death toll after the US.
The country’s total case tally crossed 13,832,455 while the death toll climbed to 368,749 on Saturday morning, as per the official figures.
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh broke its previous records of single-day death count, with 101 fatalities in 24 hours till Friday morning, although the number of new cases remained below the 5,000 mark.
The death toll now stands at 10,182, with a mortality rate of 1.43 percent, the Directorate General of Health Services said in a handout.
With 4,417 new cases, the daily infection rate has climbed to 23.36 percent.
Bangladesh reported its first coronavirus cases on March 8 last year and the first death on the 18th of that month.
So far, 711,779 cases have been confirmed, with 602,908 recoveries (84.7 percent of all patients), according to the directorate.
Covid-19 Vaccine
The government launched a vaccination campaign on February 7, with doses received from the Serum Institute of India.
Experts are calling for ramping up the drive and urging people to follow the health guidelines to keep themselves and others around them safe.
On April 8, Bangladesh began its second phase of the countrywide inoculation drive amid uncertainty over vaccine availability.