COVID-19
Coronavirus: Bangladesh sees record 28 deaths in a day, 1,764 new cases
Bangladesh on Saturday recorded the highest number of deaths due to COVID-1 as 28 more patients died in the last 24 hours, raising the death tally to 610.
The country also saw further rise in coronavirus cases with the detection of 1,764 new cases during the same period, taking the total number of cases to 44,608.
Prof Dr Nasima Sultana, Additional Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) came up with the disclosure at its daily health bulletin.
Across the country 360 more patients made recovery, she said adding that so far 9,375 people have recovered from the disease.
Coronavirus: Over 4,500 policemen infected in Bangladesh
As many as 4,544 members of Bangladesh Police were infected by coronavirus while performing their duties until Friday.
International community to support open research to fight COVID-19
Thirty countries, including multiple international partners and institutions including Bangladesh, have signed up to support the COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (C-TAP), to fight COVID-19 which is accessible to all.
COVID-19: Bashundhara Isolation Centre at ICCB to be launched by Monday
Bashundhara Isolation Centre, dedicated for COVID-19 patients at Bashundhara International Convention City (ICCB), will be formally launched on Sunday or Monday, said its Director Dr Tanvir Ahmed.
25-30% bus seats must be kept empty, no standing passengers: Quader
Road, Transport and Bridges Minister Obaidul Quader on Friday said buses will have to keep 25-30 percent seats vacant and cannot carry standing passengers while plying roads from Sunday.
Jatri Kalyan Samity against transport fare hike amid Covid-19
Jatri Kalyan Samity, a passengers' welfare organisation insisted on not hiking the fares of public transports and urged government to reduce oil price and prevent extortion in transport section amid coronavirus pandemic.
People returning to Dhaka en masse after Eid exodus
Although public transport remains suspended, thousands of people have started coming back to their workplaces in Dhaka after celebrating Eid-ul-Fitr at home, availing all kinds of transport from ferries through river routes to three-wheelers, pickup vans, private cars on roads.
Covid-19: Forty-four newly infected in 24 hrs in Feni
Forty-four more individuals in the district were found newly-infected with coronavirus or Covid-19 in the daily tally revealed on Friday by health authorities.
KMCH starts Plasma Therapy for experimental treatment of Covid-19 patients
After Dhaka Medical College Hospital, now Khulna Medical College Hospital (KMCH) has started Convalescent Plasma Therapy (CPT) on experimental basis, aiming to save lives of Covid-19 infected patients.
A physician, who had recovered from coronavirus, donated his plasmas to KMCH for the first time on Thursday night.
A medical team led by Dr SM Tushar Alam, head of blood transfusion department of the hospital, administered CPT to treat a coronavirus infected patient at the hospital.
Sources said, Dr Mohammad Manjurul, an intern of Sir Salimullah Medical College and Hospital and a resident of Bagerhat, donated his plasmas at the blood bank of the hospital.
Dr Manjurul was found infected with coronavirus in April and later he recovered.
Prof. Dr Mohammad Abdul Ahad of Khulna Medical College, director of KMCH, Dr Munshi Reza Sekendar, coordinator of Coronavirus prevention and treatment management committee, Dr Mehedi Newaz, Focal person of Corona Dedicated hospital Dr Farid Uddin Ahmed, Dr Shoilendranath Biswas and Dr Firoz were present there.
Dr SM Tushar Alam, said, “ Convalescent Plasma Therapy (CPT) has started at the hospital and we hope we’ll see positive change in the patient within one or two days.”
Plasma is the liquid portion of blood that remains when all red and white blood cells and platelets have been removed. CPT is extracting blood plasma from an individual who has recovered from coronavirus illness and transfusing it into a patient who is sick.
CPT is, by far, the oldest treatment being tested to battle COVID-19, being successful in cases during the previous coronavirus outbreaks such as the Sars epidemic in 2003 and the Ebola virus outbreak in 2013. Physicians used CPT effectively before the specific treatment was developed for H1N1 influenza (Spanish virus), SARS-1 and MERS virus.
Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) started collecting plasmas from COVID-19 recovered donors. Earlier, CPT was used for treating a COVID-19 patient for the first time in Bangladesh at the Evercare Hospital Dhaka (formerly known as Apollo Hospital) on May 6.
In Bangladesh, a national technical subcommittee for the plasma treatment under the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) was formed in early April and DMCH’s blood transfusion department decided on April 28 to explore CPT to treat COVID-19 patients.
Coronavirus: Global death toll reaches 359,791
The number of global coronavirus deaths reached 359,791 on Friday morning while the confirmed cases were 5,803,416 , according to the Centre for System Science and Engineering of Johns Hopkins University.
In the US, the death toll is 101,573 while its confirmed cases stood at1, 720,613.
The first US infection was reported in Washington State on 21 January.
According to JHU data, Brazil has come up to the second position after US with 438, 238 confirmed coronavirus cases where the death toll climbed to 26,754..
The UK has the second-highest death toll at 37,919, followed by Italy with 33,142, France 28,665 and Spain 27, 119, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Coronavirus cases were first reported in China in December last year.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the coronavirus crisis a pandemic on March 11.
Bangladesh on Thursday saw the highest-ever jump in coronavirus cases in a single day as the health authorities confirmed the detection of record 2,029 new patients in the last 24 hours, raising the total cases to 40,321.
During the period, 15 more people died from the fast spreading disease, taking the death tally to 559.