Covid cases
COVID cases spike even as US hits 200M vaccine milestone
The number of Americans fully vaccinated against COVID-19 reached 200 million Wednesday amid a dispiriting holiday-season spike in cases and hospitalizations that has hit even New England, one of the most highly inoculated corners of the country.
New cases in the U.S. climbed from an average of nearly 95,000 a day on Nov. 22 to almost 119,000 a day this week, and hospitalizations are up 25% from a month ago. The increases are due almost entirely to the delta variant, though the omicron mutation has been detected in about 20 states and is sure to spread even more.
Deaths are running close to 1,600 a day on average, back up to where they were in October. And the overall U.S. death toll less than two years into the crisis could hit another heartbreaking milestone, 800,000, in a matter of days.
The situation is not as dire as last year’s holiday-season surge, before the public had access to COVID-19 vaccines, but the 60% of the U.S. population that is fully vaccinated has not been enough to prevent hot spots.
READ: Omicron v. delta: Battle of coronavirus mutants is critical
The cold weather, Thanksgiving gatherings and a big rebound in holiday travel are all believed to be playing a role, along with public weariness with pandemic restrictions.
Lawrence Gostin, director of the WHO Collaborating Center on Public Health Law and Human Rights at Georgetown University, likened the virus to a wildfire.
“You can clear a forest of the shrubbery. But if you leave some shrubs and trees standing, the fire will find them,” Gostin said. “The virus will find you. It is searching for hosts that are not immune. The fact that you live in New England or New York doesn’t insulate you.”
Demand for the vaccine — with recent approval of boosters for all adults and shots for elementary school children — has been high amid the surge and the emergence of the omicron variant, whose dangers are still not fully understood. On Wednesday, Pfizer said that the initial two shots of its vaccine appear significantly less effective against omicron but that a booster dose may offer important protection.
Nearly 48 million people have received a booster, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. White House officials noted the U.S. administered 12.5 million shots last week, the highest weekly total since May.
READ: How can I protect myself from the new omicron variant?
“And that’s critical progress as we head into the winter and confront the new omicron variant,” White House coronavirus adviser Jeffrey Zients said.
At the same time, some states, notably in highly vaccinated New England, but also in the Midwest, are grappling with some of the worst surges since the start of the pandemic. Hospitals are filling up and reacting by canceling non-urgent surgeries or taking other crisis measures, while states are strongly promoting boosters.
Despite one of the highest vaccination levels in the country — over 74% of the population fully vaccinated — Vermont is coping with its biggest surge yet. In the last week, new cases per day are up 54%, and the number of people in the hospital with COVID-19 has climbed 18%.
The virus is preying on those who haven’t gotten their shots: As of Tuesday, 90% of the COVID-19 patients in intensive care were unvaccinated.
“Obviously, it’s not where we want to be,” Gov. Phil Scott said Tuesday, calling the situation “extremely frustrating.”
More than 400 people were in the hospital with COVID-19 in New Hampshire at the start of the week, breaking the record set last winter.
New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu directed hospitals to set up COVID-19 “surge centers” using space normally reserved for such things as outpatient care.
“Every day for the next several weeks, we’re likely to see a new high in COVID hospitalizations in New Hampshire,” said Steve Ahnen, president of the New Hampshire Hospital Association. “With over 1,000 new cases a day, that number’s not going to do anything but continue to go up.”
Maine likewise is struggling with record-breaking COVID-19 hospitalizations. Gov. Janet Mills on Wednesday activated as many as 75 members of the National Guard to help out.
“The vast majority of patients in our hospitals are unvaccinated. That’s especially true of critical care patients,” said Andy Mueller, CEO of MaineHealth, the state’s biggest health network. “It requires a tremendous amount of our resources to provide care.”
Rhode Island’s largest hospital system, Lifespan, said staffing shortages are at never-before-seen crisis levels, while Kent Hospital said it is near capacity and is considering delaying non-urgent procedures.
Dr. Paari Gopalakrishnan, Kent’s interim president and chief operating officer, said the spike is probably due to “people letting their guards down” during the holidays, and flu season could complicate things further.
New Hampshire plans to hold a “booster blitz” on Saturday at 15 locations. Most appointments were booked.
In Berlin, Vermont, Mike Labounty got his booster Tuesday.
“I have friends that are in their 20s that are getting sick and friends that are 60 that are getting sick,” he said. “The thing you see on Facebook and stuff like that is, ‘I just want this to be over. I’m very sick,’ so I’m just trying to avoid that.”
Elsewhere around the country, Indiana has seen COVID-19 hospital admissions double in the last month and is approaching levels not seen since this time a year ago, before vaccines were widely available.
The number of people in intensive care in Minnesota has reached the highest level yet during the pandemic, with 98% of ICU beds occupied. Teams of military medics have been sent into Michigan and New Mexico.
Bangladesh reports four more Covid-linked deaths
Bangladesh logged four more Covid-linked deaths along with 277 fresh cases in 24 hours till Monday morning.
With the latest cases, the daily-case positivity rate increased again to 1.44 per cent from Sunday’s 1.03 per cent, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
With the fresh numbers, the total fatalities rose to 28,005 while the caseload mounted to 15,77,720.
Among the latest deceased, two each were men and women. Two deaths were reported from Dhaka division while one each was from Rajshahi and Mymensingh divisions.
Also read: Bangladesh's economy doing better to recover from Covid-19 shocks: WB Vice President
However, the mortality rate increased to 1.78 per cent during the period.
Of the 23 deaths recorded from November 29 to December 5, 21.7 per cent received Covid vaccines while 78.3 per cent did not, the DGHS mentioned.
Comorbidities among the deceased patients increased 8.9 per cent this week compared to the previous one. Comorbidity means the simultaneous presence of two or more diseases or medical conditions in a patient.
The fresh cases were detected after testing 19,237 samples, amid the growing concern over the new ‘Omicron’ variant of coronavirus.
Besides, the recovery rate remained unchanged at 97.77 per cent with the recovery of 326 more patients during the 24-hour period.
On November 20, Bangladesh logged this year’s first zero Covid-linked death with 178 cases.
Bangladesh reported the highest number of daily fatalities of 264 on August 5 this year, while the highest daily caseload was 16,230 on July 28 this year.
So far, 38,138,453 people have fully been vaccinated in the country while 65,081,645 received the first dose as of Saturday, according to the DGHS.
Among them, 113,983students, aged from 12-17, have fully been vaccinated while 931,473 students received the first dose so far.
Also read: No Covid lockdown right now in Bangladesh: Health Minister
No new lockdown
Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Sunday ruled out any further Covid-induced lockdown in the country.
“The covid situation in Bangladesh is under control now and there’s no possibility to enforce any lockdown in the country,” he told reporters in Savar.
Zahid said there is no need to worry about the new coronavirus variant, Omicron, which has no presence in the country.
Global Covid cases near 265 million
The overall number of Covid cases is fast approaching 265 million amid the emergence of the new Omricron variant of Covid-19.
According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 264,834,612 while the death toll from the virus reached 5,242,078 Saturday morning.
The US has recorded 48,988,223 cases to date and more than 787,678 people have died so far from the virus in the country, as per the university data.
Brazil, which has been experiencing a new wave of cases since January, registered 22,129,409 cases as of Friday, while its Covid death toll rose to 615,400.
India's Covid-19 tally rose to 34,615,757 on Friday, as 9,216 new cases were registered in 24 hours across the country, as per the federal health ministry data.
Besides, as many as 391 deaths due to the pandemic since Thursday morning took the total death toll to 470,115.
Also read: FDA paves way for Pfizer COVID-19 vaccinations in young kids
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh logged three more Covid-linked deaths and 243 fresh cases in 24 hours till Friday morning.
With the latest cases, the daily case positivity rate increased to 1.40 percent from Thursday’s 1.24 percent, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
With the fresh numbers, the total fatalities rose to 27,989 while the caseload mounted to 15,77,070.
However, the mortality rate declined to 1.77 percent.
The fresh cases were detected after testing 17,473 samples, amid the growing concern over the Omicron variant.
Besides, the recovery rate remained unchanged at 97.77 percent with the recovery of 225 more patients during the 24-hour period.
On November 20, Bangladesh logged this year’s first zero Covid-linked death with 178 cases.
Bangladesh reported the highest number of daily fatalities of 264 on August 5 this year, while the highest daily caseload was 16,230 on July 28 this year.
So far, 3,75,67,876 people have fully been vaccinated in the country, while 6,37,71,795 received the first dose as of Thursday, according to the directorate.
Also read: Dual disaster management during COVID-19 pandemic underscored
Among them, 5,90,19 students, aged from 12-17, have fully been vaccinated, while 8,74,213 students received the first dose so far.
Global Covid cases surpass 263 million
The overall number of Covid cases has surged past 263 million amid the global scare over the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 263,428,782 while the death toll from the virus reached 5,223,644 Thursday morning.
Omicron raised alarm because of its sheer number of mutations, more than prior variants had. Possibly 30 are in a key place, the spike protein that lets the virus attach to human cells, reports AP.
The US has recorded 48,692,555 cases to date and more than 782,104 people have died so far from the virus in the country, as per the university data.
The US recorded its first confirmed case of the Omicron variant Wednesday — in a vaccinated traveller who returned to California after a trip to South Africa — as scientists around the world race to establish whether the new, mutant version of the coronavirus is more dangerous than previous ones, reports AP.
Dr Anthony Fauci, the United States’ top infectious disease expert, announced the finding at the White House.
Brazil, which has been experiencing a new wave of cases since January, registered 22,105,872 cases as of Wednesday, while its Covid death toll rose to 614,964.
Brazil on Wednesday reported its third case of Omicron, after a Brazilian national who arrived from eastern Africa over the weekend tested positive.
Read: Why WHO skipped ‘nu,’ ‘xi’ for new COVID variant
India's Covid-19 tally rose to 34,596,776 on Wednesday, while its Covid death toll rose to 469,247.
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh logged two more Covid-linked deaths along with 282 fresh cases in 24 hours till Wednesday morning.
With the latest cases, the daily case positivity rate rose to 1.50 percent from Tuesday’s 1.38 percent, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
With the fresh numbers, the total fatalities rose to 27,983 while the caseload mounted to 15,76,566 amid the growing concern over the new Omicron variant of the coronavirus.
On November 20, Bangladesh logged this year’s first zero Covid-linked death with 178 cases.
Bangladesh logged the highest number of daily fatalities at 264 on August 5 this year. Besides, the highest daily caseload was 16,230 on July 28 this year.
Read: What we know and don’t know on new COVID variant
So far, 3,69,63,122 people have fully been vaccinated in the country, while 6,17,32,437 received the first dose as of Tuesday, according to the directorate.
Covid claims 2 more lives with report of 155 new cases
Bangladesh reported two more Covid-linked deaths along with 155 fresh cases in 24 hours till Saturday morning.
On Friday, the country registered two Covid-related deaths and 239 cases.
With this, the daily-case positivity rate increased to 1.15 per cent from Friday’s 1.49 per cent, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
With the fresh numbers, the total fatalities rose to 27,975 while the caseload mounted to 15,75,579.
Among the latest deceased, one was a woman and another man -- both were from Dhaka division.
However, the mortality rate remained static at 1.78 per cent.
The fresh cases were detected after testing 13,462 samples, the DGHS added.
Besides, the recovery rate stood at 97.74 per cent with the recovery of 188 more patients during the 24-hour period.
On November 20, Bangladesh logged this year’s first zero Covid-linked deaths with 178 cases.
Public health experts have, however, warned that the current downward trend of Covid-19 cases in Bangladesh could well be the obvious calm before a cataclysmic storm.
Their fear centres around children below 12 who remain out of the vaccine coverage and the elderly people, according to the experts.
The experts fear a slow pace of vaccination, waning vaccine immunity, sheer disregard for Covid safety protocols, reopening of schools and increased travel may set the stage for another Covid wave in Bangladesh -- a trend many European countries are witnessing now.
Global Covid cases near 260 million
The overall number of Covid cases is fast approaching 260 million amid the global race to vaccinate masses against the infectious disease.
According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 259,944,766 while the death toll from the virus reached 5,181,033, Friday morning.
The US has recorded 48,126,373 cases to date and more than 775,785 people have died so far from the virus in the country, as per the university data.
Brazil, which has been experiencing a new wave of cases since January, registered 22,055,608 cases as of Thursday, while its Covid death toll rose to 613,697.
India's Covid-19 tally rose to 34,546,926 on Thursday, as 9,119 new cases were registered in 24 hours across the country, as per the federal health ministry data.
Also read: Covid: WHO warns of 700,000 more deaths in Europe by March
Besides, 396 deaths due to the pandemic since Tuesday morning took the total death toll to 466,980.
The World Health Organization’s Europe office says projections show its 53-country region could face another 700,000 deaths in the pandemic by next spring, topping two million in total, reports AP.
WHO Europe, which is based in Copenhagen, Denmark, also cited growing evidence of a decline in protection against infection and mild disease through vaccines, and said a “booster dose” should be given as a priority to the most vulnerable populations -- including people with weakened immune systems -- as well as people over age 60 and healthcare workers.
The UN health agency’s international headquarters in Geneva, however, has repeatedly called for a moratorium on the use of boosters through year-end so that doses can be made available for many developing countries that have faced a severe lack of the Covid vaccines compared to the rich world.
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh reported nine more Covid-linked deaths and 237 fresh cases in 24 hours till Thursday morning.
With this, the daily case positivity rate declined to 1.25 percent on Thursday from Wednesday’s 1.49 percent, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Also read: Covid kills 9 more in Bangladesh, infects another 237
On Wednesday, the country reported three Covid-related deaths for the second day in a row, along with 312 fresh cases
With the fresh numbers, the total fatalities rose to 27,970 while the caseload mounted to 1,575,184.
Among the latest deceased, three were men and six women. Six of them were from Dhaka division, while one each was from Chattogram, Khulna and Rangpur divisions.
However, the mortality rate remained static at 1.78 percent.
The fresh cases were detected after testing 18,888 samples, the directorate said.
Besides, the recovery rate stood at 97.74 percent with the recovery of 360 more patients during the 24-hour period.
On Saturday, Bangladesh logged zero Covid-linked deaths with 178 cases.
So far, 35,690,258 people have fully been vaccinated in the country, while 57,124,899 received the first dose as of Wednesday, according to the directorate.
French prime minister positive for COVID-19, as cases rise
France's prime minister tested positive for COVID-19 on Monday, hours after returning from a visit to neighboring Belgium and just as France is seeing a nationwide resurgence of infections, according to his office.
The positive test also means that his Belgian counterpart Alexander De Croo and four other minister immediately went into quarantine since they met with Castex for talks in Brussels earlier Monday.
French Prime Minister Jean Castex will adapt his schedule for the coming 10 days to continue his activities in isolation, his office said. Officials at the prime minister's headquarters did not comment on whether Castex has any virus symptoms.
Also read: As virus surges in Eastern Europe, leaders slow to act
One of Castex's daughters tested positive Monday after her father returned from a meeting with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo in Brussels, and Castex himself then took two tests that were both positive, his office said.
De Croo's office said he will be tested Wednesday and will self-isolate while awaiting the result, as will the foreign affairs, defense, justice and home ministers.
“Since Prime Minister De Croo received the French Prime Minister for security talks, he has immediately interrupted his activities,” a statement from his office said.
Also read: Russia hits new record for coronavirus infections
While 75% of France's population is vaccinated, the number of virus infections has risen quickly in recent weeks. Hospitalizations and deaths linked to the virus are also rising in France, though are so far well below the crisis levels of earlier surges.
French President Emmanuel Macron contracted COVID-19 last December, and other government ministers have also had the virus.
Global Covid cases near 258 million amid vaccination
The overall global number of Covid cases is fast approaching 258 million amid the worldwide race to vaccinate people against the infectious disease.
According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 257,520,965 while the death toll from the virus reached 5,150,520 as of Monday morning.
The US has recorded 47,730,591 cases to date and more than 771,118 people have died so far from the virus in the country, as per the university data.
Brazil, which has been experiencing a new wave of cases since January, registered 22,017,276 cases as of Monday, while its Covid death toll rose to 612,659.
India's Covid-19 tally rose to 34,510,413 on Sunday as 10,488 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, showed the federal health ministry's latest data.
Read: US opens COVID boosters to all adults, urges them for 50+
Besides, 313 deaths due to the pandemic since Saturday morning took the total death toll to 465,662.
Russia has confirmed 36,970 Covid-19 infections over the past 24 hours, taking the nationwide tally to 9,331,158, the official monitoring and response center said Sunday. Meanwhile, the national COVID-19 death toll grew by 1,252 to 264,095, while the number of recoveries increased by 32,504 to 8,024,930.
Confirmed cases in Russia over the past seven days declined by 5.5 percent from a week ago, with Moscow seeing an even sharper drop of about 30 percent, the center said.
Meanwhile, the World Health Organization says coronavirus deaths in Europe rose 5% in the last week, making it the only region in the world where Covid-19 deaths increased.
The U.N. health agency said confirmed cases jumped 6% globally, driven by increases in the Americas, Europe and Asia, reports AP.
In its weekly report on the pandemic issued late Tuesday, WHO said COVID-19 deaths in all regions other than Europe remained stable or declined, and totaled 50,000 worldwide last week. Of the 3.3 million new infections reported, 2.1 million came from Europe.
It was the seventh consecutive week that COVID-19 cases continued to mount across the 61 countries and territories that WHO counts in its European region, which stretches through Russia to Central Asia.
Situation in Bangladesh
After seeing a deathless day from Covid-19, Bangladesh reported seven more deaths in 24 hours till Sunday morning along with 199 fresh infections.
Bangladesh on Saturday logged zero Covid-linked deaths with 178 cases.
The daily case positivity rate declined to 1.16 per cent today from Saturday’s 1.18 per cent, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Six of today’s deceased were men and one was a woman. Five of the deaths were reported from Dhaka division while one each from Chattogram and Khulna divisions.
With the fresh numbers, the total fatalities rose to 27,953 while the caseload mounted to 1,574,088. However, the mortality rate remained static at 1.78 per cent.
The fresh cases were detected after testing 17,135 samples, the DGHS added.
Read:Zero death from Covid brings relief for Bangladesh
Besides, the recovery rate remained the same as 97.72 per cent with the recovery of 192 more patients during the 24-hour period.
Some of the leading public health experts in Bangladesh have warned that the current trend of plummeting Covid-19 cases in Bangladesh could well be the obvious calm before a cataclysmic storm.
Their fears center on children below 12 who remain out of the vaccine coverage and the elderly people.
These experts fear a slow pace of vaccination, waning vaccine immunity, sheer disregard for Covid-safety protocols, reopening of schools and increased travel may set the stage for another Covid wave in Bangladesh -- a trend many European countries are witnessing now.
Zero death from Covid brings relief for Bangladesh
Confronting a tumultuous time since reporting its first death from Coronavirus on March 8, 2020 followed by the wrath unleashed by delta variant in 2021, Bangladesh finally reported zero death from the deadly virus in 24 hours till Saturday morning.
The country, however, logged 178 more infections during the 24-hour period.
Bangladesh recorded its first Covid cases on March 8 and the first death on March 18 of the last year.
The daily case positivity rate has declined to 1.18 per cent today from Friday’s 1.40 per cent, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Also read: Bangladesh bracing for third Covid wave?
With the fresh numbers, the total fatalities rose to 27,946 while the caseload mounted to 1,573,889.
However, the mortality rate remained static at 1.78 per cent.
The fresh cases were detected after testing 15,107 samples, the DGHS added.
Besides, the recovery rate remained the same as 97.72 per cent with the recovery of 190 more patients during the 24-hour period.
Covid-19 Waves
On January 12 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City of Hubei Province in China.
On December 31, 2019, China reported to the WHO some cases of pneumonia with unknown causes.
Bangladesh was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic along with many other countries across the globe on March 8 last year when Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) reported the first three cases.
During mid-January to the first week of March, 2021 the infection rate remained below 5 and from the last week of March 2021, the infection and death toll gradually increased suggesting the start of the second wave of Covid-19 in the country.
Global Covid cases top 256 million
The overall number of Covid cases has surged past 256 million amid the global race to vaccinate masses against the infectious disease.
According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 256,617,432 while the death toll from the virus reached 5,139,946 Saturday morning.
The US has recorded 47,658, 708 cases to date and more than 770,671 people have died so far from the virus in the country, as per the university data.
Brazil, which has been experiencing a new wave of cases since January, registered 22,003,317 cases as of Friday, while its Covid death toll rose to 612,370.
India's Covid-19 tally rose to 34,489,623 on Friday, as 11,106 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, showed the federal health ministry data.
Also read: COVID-19′s global death toll tops 5 million in under 2 years
Besides, 459 deaths have been recorded since Thursday morning, taking the death toll to 465,082.
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh logged seven more Covid-linked deaths and 253 fresh infections in 24 hours till Friday morning, according to the Directorate General of Health Services.
Of the deceased three were men and four women, said DGHS.
The daily case positivity rate increased to 1.40 from Thursday’s 1.25 percent.
The fresh numbers took the total fatalities to 27,946 while the country’s caseload mounted to 15, 73,711, said DGHS.
Also read: Merck agrees to let other drug makers make its COVID pill
Dhaka division logged six Covid-related deaths while Chattogram division logged one during the period, it said.
However, the mortality rate remained static at 1.78 percent.
The fresh cases were detected after testing 18,124 samples, the directorate added.
Besides, the recovery rate remained the same as 97.72 percent, with the recovery of 294 more patients during the 24-hour period.