Infection
40 new dengue patients hospitalized
Forty new dengue patients were hospitalised in 24 hours till Wednesday morning as cases are rising again in Bangladesh during monsoon.
Among them, 38 new patients were hospitalised in Dhaka and the remaining two patients outside it, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
As many as 128 dengue patients, including 121 in the capital, are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country.
On June 21, the DGHS reported the first death of the season from the mosquito-borne viral disease.
This year, the DGHS has recorded 1056 dengue cases and 927 recoveries so far.
Dengue – a leading cause of serious illness and death in some Asian and Latin American countries – was first reported in Bangladesh in 2000 and claimed 93 lives. In three years, the fatality number almost fell to zero.
Read: Dengue: 24 new patients hospitalised
However, 105 dengue patients, including 95 in Dhaka division, died in 2021.
Dengue is found in tropical and sub-tropical climates worldwide, mostly in urban and semi-urban areas.
About 4 billion people, almost half of the world's population, live in areas with a risk of dengue, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Each year, up to 400 million people get infected with dengue while approximately 100 million get sick from infection, and 40,000 die from severe dengue, it says.
"There is no specific treatment for dengue or severe dengue. Early detection of disease progression associated with severe dengue, and access to proper medical care lowers fatality rates of severe dengue to below 1 percent," according to the World Health Organization.
Monkeypox: Global situation cannot be ignored amid uncertainty, says WHO chief
The World Health Organization (WHO) chief recently said person-to-person transmission of monkeypox was ongoing and likely underestimated.
He was addressing the WHO's Emergency Committee Thursday on the global monkeypox outbreak.
Members of the committee could announce their decision on whether or not the outbreak constitutes a public health emergency of international concern, as early as Friday.
However, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the spread of the disease both in non-endemic and endemic countries cannot be ignored.
The first mysterious cluster appeared in the UK just over six weeks ago, when the WHO was told of a family cluster of three cases, without any recent travel taking place.
Read: No monkeypox case detected yet in Bangladesh: Health Ministry
"Since then, more than 3,200 confirmed cases of monkeypox, and one death, have been reported to the WHO, from 48 countries including Nigeria, and in five WHO regions," Tedros said.
The outbreak in newly affected countries continues to be primarily among men who have sex with men, and who reported recent sex with new or multiple partners, he added.
However, in Nigeria, the proportion of women affected is much higher than elsewhere, and it is critical to better understand how the disease is spreading there, the WHO chief said.
So far this year, almost 1,500 suspected cases of monkeypox and around 70 deaths have been reported in Central Africa, primarily in the Democratic Republic of the Congo but also in the Central African Republic and Cameroon, Tedros added.
"Few of these cases are confirmed, and little is known about their circumstances. While the epidemiology and viral clade in these cases may be different, it is a situation that cannot be ignored."
The WHO chief said all countries had to remain vigilant and strengthen their capacities to prevent the onward transmission of monkeypox. "Many countries will likely have missed opportunities to identify cases, including cases in the community without any recent travel."
Covid-19: Bangladesh reports 1,685 more cases, positivity declines to 12.18 pc
Bangladesh reported 1,685 new cases of Covid infection in 24 hours till Friday morning taking the total caseload to 19,62, 213, said the health authority .
The country's total fatalities, however, remained unchanged at 29,135 as no death was reported during the period, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
On Thursday the country recorded one death and 1,319 cases from Covid-19.
The country recorded over 1000 Covid cases (1409 cases) with 11 deaths last on February 25.
The daily-case positivity rate declined to 12.18 per cent from Thursday’s 14.32 per cent as 13,833 samples were tested during the period, said the DGHS.
Read: Covid-19: Bangladesh reports 23 new cases, zero death
The mortality rate also declined to 1.48 per cent. The recovery rates declined to 97.16 per cent from Thursday’s 97.23 per cent as185 patients recovered during this period.
In May, the country reported only four Covid-linked deaths and 816 new cases, while 7,356 patients recovered from the disease, according to the DGHS.
Among the four deaths during the period, one was vaccinated with a single dose of Covid vaccine while three were vaccinated with two doses.
The country reported its first zero Covid death in a single day on November 20 last year, along with 178 cases, since the pandemic broke out here in March 2020.
On January 28, Bangladesh logged its previous highest positivity rate of 33.37 per cent.
The country registered its highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year and daily fatalities of 264 on August 10 in the same year.
Can you get long COVID after an infection with omicron?
It’s too early to know for sure, but many doctors believe it’s possible to have long-term effects from the omicron variant of the virus.
Long COVID is usually diagnosed many weeks after a bout with COVID-19. Any long-lasting effects typically appear about 90 days after symptoms of the initial infection go away, Maria Van Kerkhove of the World Health Organization said this week.
Overall, some estimates suggest more than a third of COVID-19 survivors will develop some symptoms of long COVID. Symptoms include fatigue, brain fog, shortness of breath, anxiety and other problems. The lingering illness is more likely if you’ve been hospitalized with COVID-19, but research shows it can happen even after a mild infection.
Omicron began its race around the world late last year. The variant generally causes milder illness than the delta version of the coronavirus, but has still overwhelmed hospitals.
READ: Omicron may hit business confidence & economic recovery in Bangladesh: Survey
Van Kerkhove said she hasn’t seen any research indicating that the portion of COVID-19 survivors who get long COVID will change with the omicron variant.
Dr. Linda Geng of Stanford University, who co-directs one of the many clinics specializing in long COVID, said that though she can’t say for sure, a new wave of patients is likely.
“We have to be very cautious and very careful and prepared,” Geng said.
In the meantime, scientists are racing to figure out what’s behind the mysterious condition. Some theories? It may be an autoimmune disorder. Tiny microclots may be causing the disabling symptoms. Or perhaps latent viruses in the body have been reactivated.
READ: Bangladesh's Omicron tally rises to 187
Scientists are also looking at whether vaccines could be part of the answer. A Yale University team is studying the possibility that vaccination might reduce long COVID symptoms. And two other studies offer early evidence that being vaccinated before getting COVID-19 could help prevent the lingering illness or at least reduce its severity.
Covid-19 infections rise to 50 % in Bagerhat
The Covid-19 infection rate in this south-western coastal district jumped to 50 per cent as per samples tested in the past 24 hours till Sunday, officials said.
Deputy Civil Surgeon Dr. Mohammad Habibur Rahman, said that 20 people tested positive for the virus from samples taken from 40 people during this period.
With this some 7,125 people have tested positive for Covid-19 while 144 people died of Covid till Sunday in the district. A total of 6,935 people recovered from the virus, he said.
Also read: Bangladesh reports 17 more deaths as Covid getting deadlier
He said 63.19% people of the district have received the first dose of the Covid jabs, while 41.88% got second dose and 1.18% received booster or the third dose.
Besides, one lakh 53 thousand 361 students aged between 12 and 17 have been given the first shot and 46 thousand 437 the second shot, according to health officials.
Despite a surge in the virus people seemed indifferent to maintaining Covid safety masures like wearing masks in public places.
Also read: Covid in Bangladesh: 11,434 more cases, 12 deaths and positivity rate rises to 28.49%
In the city’s crowded areas of Sadhonar intersection, Main Road, Kitchen Market, fish market and other important places, people were seen moving without wearing masks.
Covid surge in Bangladesh: 5,000 get infected in just one week
Bangladesh is currently seeing a surge of Covid-19 cases as health authorities logged 4,920 infections in the last seven days till Thursday morning.
The country reported seven more deaths and 1,140 fresh cases in 24 hours till Thursday morning, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Bangladesh’s daily cases last crossed 1,100 on September 29, 2021 with the registering of 1,178 cases and 17 deaths.
With the detection of fresh cases after testing 23,435 samples, the daily-case positivity rose to 4.86 per cent from Wednesday’s 3.20 per cent during the period, according to the DGHS.
Also read: One dose of vaccine must to attend schools: Cabinet Secretary
The fresh numbers took the country’s total fatalities to 28,097 while the caseload mounted to 15,89,947.
Meanwhile, the mortality rate remained static at 1.77 per cent during the period.
Besides, the recovery rate further declined to 97.51 per cent with the recovery of 196 more patients during the 24-hour period.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s total tally of Omicron cases stood at 10 with detection of three cases on December 31, according to GISAID, a global initiative on sharing all influenza data.
On December 9, Bangladesh again logged zero Covid-related death after nearly three weeks as the pandemic was apparently showing signs of easing.
The country reported this year’s first zero Covid-related death in a single day on November 20 along with 178 infections since the pandemic broke out in Bangladesh in March 2020.
Bangladesh reported the highest number of daily fatalities of 264 on August 10 this year, while the highest daily caseload was 16,230 on July 28 this year.
Also read: Two India returnees test positive for Covid
Restrictions
The government is going to put some restrictions amid the surge in Covid-19 cases, including plying public transport at their half capacities and closing shops and markets by 8pm, said Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Tuesday.
“Public buses will operate at half of their capacities while shops and shopping malls will have to be closed by 8 pm instead of 10 pm,” Maleque said while talking to reporters at the Secretariat.
Deputy Commissioners have been asked to enforce the directives within seven days, he added.
However, the government is not considering any lockdown in the country right now and it will think about it if the infection rate goes up further, said the health minister.
Schools, colleges that’ll see infection surge to be shut: Dipu Moni
If there is any report or possibility of rise in Covid cases in any educational institution then those will be closed, said Education Minister Dipu Moni on Saturday.
“But no such situation has so far arisen anywhere. If any report comes, we’ll take steps,” she said while talking to reporters after the inauguration of Bangabandhu-Bapu Digital Exhibition at the Shilpakala Academy.
“We don’t want to bring the pre-primary level students to educational institutions now. After three weeks, we’ll take a decision on it,” said Dipu Moni.
Also read: Five girl students contract Covid in Thakurgaon school
Global Covid cases top 193 million
The global Covid-19 caseload has now surpassed 193 million as the highly contagious Delta variant continues to devastate several countries even with mass inoculations underway.
The total caseload and fatalities stand at 193,165,622 and 4,143,105 respectively, as of Saturday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
So far, 3,780,890,033 vaccine doses have been administered across the globe.
The US, which is the world's worst-hit country in terms of both cases and deaths, has so far logged 34,400,655 cases. Besides, 610,720 people have lost their lives in the US to date, as per the JHU data.
Brazil has registered 1,412 more Covid-19 deaths in the past 24 hours, raising its national death toll to 548,340 till Saturday.
As many as 49,757 new cases were detected during the period, taking the total caseload to 19,632,443 the ministry said.
Read: Americas account for 40% global Covid deaths, 25% cases: WHO
Brazil currently has the world's second-highest pandemic death toll after the United States, and the third-largest caseload after the United States and India.
The third worst-hit country, India's Covid-19 tally rose to 31,293,062 on Saturday as 35,342 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country.
Besides, as many as 483 deaths due to the pandemic since Friday morning took the total death toll to 419,470.
According to AP, India’s excess deaths during the pandemic could be a staggering 10 times the official Covid-19 toll, likely making it modern India’s worst human tragedy, according to the most comprehensive research yet on the ravages of the virus in the South Asian country.
Read: India's deaths during pandemic 10X official toll
The report released Tuesday estimated excess deaths — the gap between those recorded and those that would have been expected — to be 3-4.7 million between January 2020 and June 2021. It said an accurate figure may “prove elusive” but the true death toll “is likely to be an order of magnitude greater than the official count.”
Situation in Bangladesh
Although the Covid-related deaths dropped to 166 in Bangladesh on Friday from 231 on July 19, the country’s health system still remained overwhelmed.
The country saw the below 200 fatalities for the third straight day.
Also, Covid-19 infections are at 81% of the peak now, with 9,632 new cases reported on an average each day. The highest daily average was recorded on July 15.
Bangladesh recorded 6,364 new infections in 24 hours till Friday morning after testing 20,493 samples.
With Covid's Delta variant spreading fast, the country's fatalities have been hovering at nearly 200 for the past two weeks. It reported the highest daily Covid fatality figure – 231 – on July 19 and 13,768 infections on the 12th of the month.
There have been 1,146,564 infections and 18,851 coronavirus-related deaths here since the pandemic began, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Meanwhile, the daily test positivity rate fell to 31.05% from Thursday's 32.19%.
Read: Bangladesh sees 173 more Covid deaths as pandemic eclipses Eid celebrations
Amid growing concerns about the highly infectious Delta variant, Dhaka division reported the highest 60 deaths, Khulna and Chattogram 33 each, Rangpur 12, Barishal 10, Sylhet eight, Rajshahi seven, and Mymensingh three.
However, the death rate stood at 1.64% and the recovery rate rose to 85.35%.
Thakurgaon records highest single-day rise in Covid cases at 109
Thakurgaon logged 109 fresh Covid cases in the past 24 hours till Thursday night, the district's highest single-day spike this year.
The new infections were detected after testing 334 samples, said civil surgeon Dr Mahfuzar Rahman Sarkar. "The new cases have pushed up the district’s positivity rate to 32.63%," he said.
Also read: 23 more infected with Covid-19 in Thakurgaon
While 64 people tested positive for Covid after testing samples at M Abdur Rahim Medical College in Dinajpur, Communicable Disease Control Centre, Thakurgaon Sadar Hospital, and the upazila hospital, the remaining cases were confirmed by the National Institute of Laboratory Medicine and Referral Center Dhaka, the civil surgeon said.
So far, some 2266 people in Thakurgaon have been infected with the virus, while 51 have died of Covid.
Also read: Cattle markets in Thakurgaon closed for a week due to Covid
Meanwhile, the district administration on Thursday ordered the closure of all cattle markets in Thakurgaon for a week to contain the spread of coronavirus.
Also the district and upazila authorities have imposed strict restrictions such as the closure of all shops in the district by 5pm to break the chain of Covid transmission.
Covid-19: Bangladesh sees rise in deaths as cases fall
Bangladesh logged 38 more coronavirus-related deaths in the last 24 hours till Saturday morning, taking the country's fatalities to 12,348.
The daily infection rate rose to 8.41% from Friday's 7.22%, said the Directorate General of Health Services.
Meanwhile, 1,028 new cases were reported after testing 12,230 samples.
Bangladesh reported 26 deaths on Friday after logging around 30 deaths for consecutive four days.
The fatality rate rose to 1.57% after remaining static at 1.56% for six days.
The recovery rate stood at 92.65% as 759 people recovered in the last 24 hours. The overall recovery number is 729,798 till date.
Bangladesh has so far reported 787,726 coronavirus cases
The country has carried out 5,805,407 sample tests since reporting its first cases on March 8 last year and the first death on March 18, 2020.
Read: India suffers double blow as black fungus declared epidemic amid COVID-19 surge
Vaccination drive
Bangladesh launched its vaccination drive on February 7 with Oxford-AstraZeneca doses purchased from India's Serum Institute.
The administration of the first dose has remained suspended since April 26. Also, the country, the prime recipient of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines, has suspended the registration for Covid-19 jabs due to vaccine shortage amid a delay in the timely arrival of shipments from India.
In the past 24 hours, no one received the first dose of the vaccine while 41,467 have received the second dose, said the health directorate.
Vaccine supply update
The government signed an agreement with Serum for 30 million doses. But a record number of cases in India has made the delivery of the doses uncertain.
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen Friday reached out to global media to let the world know that Bangladesh is desperately looking for vaccines and ready to accept any shipment from any country.
"A large number of people in Bangladesh, who took the first dose of Oxford-AstraZeneca, could not get the second dose because we have run out of supplies," the minister said.
Paying heed to Bangladesh’s request, China on Friday said it will send the second batch of 600,000 doses of its COVID-19 vaccine as gift.
The foreign minister on Thursday said the government was making its best efforts to get vaccines from multiple countries – the US, China, Canada, Russia and the UK – apart from its continuous request to India to meet Bangladesh's urgent needs.
Bangladesh received 500,000 doses of China's Sinopharm vaccine as a gift on May 12. The administering of the shots will begin by May 25-26, said Health Minister Zahid Maleque.
Also, the country would receive a minimum of 106,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine under the COVAX scheme, co-led by Gavi, Maleque said May 18.
Besides, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs Wednesday approved a proposal of the Health Services Division to import the Sinofarm Covid-19 vaccine.