North Korea said Friday that nearly 10% of its 26 million people have fallen ill and 65 people have died amid its first COVID-19 outbreak, as outside experts question the validity of its reported fatalities and worry about a possible humanitarian crisis. After admitting the omicron outbreak last week following more than two years of claiming to be coronavirus-free, North Korea has said an unidentified fever has been explosively spreading across the country since late April. Its anti-epidemic center has since released fever tallies each morning via state media, but they don’t include any COVID-19 figures. Also read: Shanghai to reopen subways in easing of COVID restrictions Some observers say North Korea was likely forced to acknowledge the COVID-19 outbreak because it couldn't hide the highly contagious viral spread among its people and suffer possible public discontent with leader Kim Jong Un. They believe North Korean authorities are underreporting mortalities to try to show that its pandemic response is effective, while the country lacks test kits to confirm a large number of virus cases. “It’s true that there has been a hole in its 2 1/2 years of pandemic fighting,” said Kwak Gil Sup, head of One Korea Center, a website specializing in North Korea affairs. “But there is a saying that North Korea is ’a theater state,' and I think they are massaging COVID-19 statistics.” Kwak said North Korea is likely partly using the outbreak as a propaganda tool to show that it is overcoming the pandemic with Kim’s leadership. But the country has “a Plan B” and “a Plan C” to seek Chinese and other foreign aid if the pandemic gets out of hand, he said. On Friday, the North’s state emergency epidemic prevention headquarters said 263,370 more people had feverish symptoms and two more people died, bringing the total fever cases to 2.24 million and fatalities to 65. They said 754,810 people remain quarantined, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. The outbreak likely originated from an April 25 military parade in Pyongyang that Kim organized to show off his new missiles and loyal troops. The parade and other related festivals, which marked North Korea’s army foundation anniversary, drew tens of thousands of people and soldiers from Pyongyang and other parts of the country, who returned home after the events. South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers Thursday that “a considerable number” of the fever cases reported by North Korea include people sick with waterborne diseases like measles, typhoid and pertussis. The National Intelligence Service assessed that those diseases had already been spreading across North Korea even before COVID-19 broke out, according to Ha Tae-keung, a lawmaker who attended a private NIS briefing. Ha cited the NIS as saying the waterborne diseases were spreading due to shortages of medicines and medical supplies in the wake of the North’s previous long-running anti-pandemic steps. Also read:CDC urges Pfizer booster for children ages 5 to 11 “(The NIS) said it doesn’t know exactly what percentage of the fever cases are coronavirus patients. It said North Korea lacks coronavirus diagnostic kits but appears to have sufficient thermometers,” Ha said. The NIS has a spotty record in confirming developments in North Korea. Some civilian medical experts earlier said they believed most of the fever cases announced by North Korea were COVID-19. Earlier this week, a health official said on state TV the government had detected 168 COVID-19 cases as of Monday, when the country’s fever cases already surpassed a million. There have been no updates on the North’s virus cases since then. North Korea’s public medical system remains in shambles, and experts say the country could suffer mass pandemic fatalities if it doesn’t receive outside aid shipments. They say the country’s elevated restrictions on movement and quarantine rules may also worsen its food insecurity. The NIS said North Korea intends to overcome the pandemic with assistance from its main ally, China, according to Ha and Kim Byung-kee, another lawmaker who was briefed by the spy service. During an anti-virus meeting Saturday, Kim said his country faces “a great upheaval” and that officials must study how China and other nations have handled the pandemic. Some media reports said North Korea already sent planes to China to bring back emergency supplies earlier this week, but the South Korean government said it couldn’t confirm the reports. South Korea said it and the United States have offered to ship vaccines, medicines and other medical supplies to North Korea, but the North hasn’t responded.

North Korea said Friday that six people died and 350,000 have been treated for a fever that has spread “explosively” across the nation, a day after its first acknowledgement of a COVID-19 outbreak. The true scale is unclear, but a big COVID-19 outbreak could be devastating in a country with a broken health care system and an unvaccinated, malnourished population. North Korea, which likely doesn’t have sufficient COVID-19 tests and other medical equipment, said it didn't know the case of the mass fevers. The North’s official Korean Central News Agency said of the 350,000 people who developed fevers since late April, 162,200 have recovered. It said 18,000 people were newly found with fever symptoms on Thursday alone, and 187,800 people are being isolated for treatment. One of the six people who died was confirmed infected with the omicron variant, KCNA said, but it wasn’t immediately clear how many of the total illnesses were COVID-19. Also read: North Korea confirms 1st COVID outbreak, Kim orders lockdown North Korea imposed a nationwide lockdown Thursday after acknowledging a COVID-19 outbreak for the first time in the pandemic. Those reports said tests from an unspecified number of people came back positive for the omicron variant. It’s possible that the spread of the virus was accelerated by a massive military parade in Pyongyang on April 25, where North Korean leader Kim Jong Un took center stage and showcased the most powerful missiles of his military nuclear program in front of tens of thousands. Cheong Seong-Chang, an analyst at South Korea’s Sejong Institute, said the pace of the fever's spread suggests the crisis could last months and possibly into 2023, causing major disruption in the poorly equipped country. Some experts say the North’s initial announcement communicates a willingness to receive outside aid. It previously shunned vaccines offered by the U.N.-backed COVAX distribution program, possibly because they have international monitoring requirements. South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, said the South was willing to provide medical assistance and other help to North Korea based on humanitarian considerations. KCNA said Kim was briefed about the fever when he visited the emergency epidemic prevention headquarters on Thursday and criticized officials for failing to prevent “a vulnerable point in the epidemic prevention system.” He said the spread of the fever has been centered around capital Pyongyang and nearby areas and underscored the importance of isolating all work, production and residential units from one another while providing residents with every convenience during the lockdown. “It is the most important challenge and supreme tasks facing our party to reverse the immediate public health crisis situation at an early date, restore the stability of epidemic prevention and protect the health and wellbeing of our people,” KCNA quoted Kim as saying. North Korea's claim of a perfect record in keeping out the virus for two and a half years was widely doubted. But South Korean officials have said North Korea had likely avoided a huge outbreak until now, in part because it instituted strict virus controls almost from the start of the pandemic. Also read: North Korea raises alarm after confirming 1st COVID-19 case Describing its anti-coronavirus campaign as a matter of “national existence,” North Korea had severely restricted cross-border traffic and trade and is even believed to have ordered troops to shoot on sight any trespassers who cross its borders. The border closures further battered an economy already damaged by decades of mismanagement and crippling U.S.-led sanctions over its nuclear weapons and missile program, pushing Kim to perhaps the toughest moment of his rule since he took power in 2011. Hours after confirming the outbreak Thursday, North Korea launched three short-range ballistic missiles toward the sea, South Korea and Japan said, in what possibly was a show of strength after Kim publicly acknowledged the virus outbreak. It was the North’s 16th round of missile launches this year. White House press secretary Jen Psaki said the United States supported international aid efforts but doesn’t plan to share its vaccine supplies with the North. “We do continue to support international efforts aimed at the provision of critical humanitarian aid to the most vulnerable North Koreans, and this is, of course, a broader part of the DPRK continuing to exploit its own citizens by not accepting this type of aid,” Psaki said Thursday in Washington, referring to North Korea by its formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. “It’s not just vaccines. It’s also a range of humanitarian assistance that could very much help the people and the country and instead they divert resources to build their unlawful nuclear and ballistic missiles programs.”

Shanghai authorities on Monday reported the first COVID-19 deaths of the latest outbreak in China’s most populous and wealthiest city. All three who died were elderly, had underlying diseases such as diabetes and hypertension and had not been vaccinated against the coronavirus, city Health Commission inspector Wu Ganyu told journalists. Also read: Shanghai quarantine: 24-hour lights, no hot showers “After entering hospital, their conditions grew worse and they died after attempts to save them were unsuccessful," Wu said. The deaths raise to 4,641 the number of people China says have succumbed to the disease since the virus was first detected in the central city of Wuhan in late 2019. Most of Shanghai’s 25 million residents are being confined to their homes for a third week as China continues to employ a “zero-tolerance” strategy to curb the outbreak, demanding isolation of anyone possibly infected. China on Monday said 23,362 people had tested positive for the virus over the previous 24 hours, most of them showing no symptoms and almost all of them in Shanghai. The city has reported more than 300,000 cases since late March. Shanghai began easing restrictions last week, although officials have warned the city doesn't have its outbreak under control. Shanghai, which is home to China's biggest port and most important stock exchange, appeared unprepared for such a massive undertaking. Residents ran short of food and daily necessities while enduring lockdown conditions, and tens of thousands of people put under medical observation have been sequestered in crowded facilities where lights are always on, garbage bins overflow, food is inadequate and hot showers nonexistent. Anyone who tests positive but has few or no symptoms is required to spend one week in a quarantine facility. Concerns have risen about the economic impact of the government's hardline policy. Also read: COVID outbreak 'extremely grim' as Shanghai extends lockdown China’s economic growth edged up to a still-weak 4.8% over a year earlier in the first three months of 2022 as lockdowns cut production in major industrial cities. Official data showed growth accelerated from the previous quarter’s 4%. While the ruling Communist Party has urged more targeted prevention measures, local officials have routinely adopted stringent regulations, possibly for fear of being fired or penalized over outbreaks in their areas. In the city of Wenzhou, which has seen only a handful of cases, authorities have authorized rewards of up to 50,000 yuan ($7,800) for information about people who falsify their health status, online news site The Paper reported.

The authorities of Islamic University in Kushtia resumed in-person classes on Monday after about 18 months of closure due to Covid-19 outbreak. The decision of resuming physical classes was taken at the university’s 263rd syndicate meeting held on the campus in October 4. Read:IU student arrested for spreading rumor on social media The classes are being held maintaining health guidelines. The university reopened all the halls for its residential students on October 9. The university authorities allowed only those students, who had received at least one dose of a Covid vaccine, to enter the halls.

UNICEF and UNESCO have called for reopening of schools saying it has been 18 months since the COVID-19 outbreak started and education for millions of children is still disrupted. “This should not go on. Schools should be the last to close and the first to reopen," UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore and UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay said in a joint statement on Monday. As of today, primary and secondary schools are shuttered in 19 countries, affecting over 156 million students. Read:Narayanganj fire: Unicef mourns death of children Ahead of the Global Education Meeting on July 13, they urged decision makers and governments to prioritize the safe reopening of schools to avoid a generational catastrophe. “Closing schools mortgages our future for unclear benefits to our present. We must prioritize better. We can reopen schools safely, and we must.” “In their efforts to limit transmission, governments have too often shut down schools and kept them closed for prolonged periods, even when the epidemiological situation didn’t warrant it," said Fore and Azoulay. These actions were frequently taken as a first recourse rather than a last measure. In many cases, schools were closed while bars and restaurants remained open. “The losses that children and young people will incur from not being in school may never be recouped," they said. Read:Dhaka conveys protests to UK over human rights report From learning loss, mental distress, exposure to violence and abuse, to missed school-based meals and vaccinations or reduced development of social skills, the consequences for children will be felt in their academic achievement and societal engagement as well as physical and mental health. "The most affected are often children in low-resource settings who do not have access to remote learning tools, and the youngest children who are at key developmental stages," said Fore and Azoulay. The losses for parents and caretakers are equally heavy, they said adding that keeping children at home is forcing parents around the world to leave their jobs, especially in countries with no or limited family leave policies. “That’s why reopening schools for in-person learning cannot wait," said Fore and Azoulay. They said it cannot wait for cases to go to zero and there is clear evidence that primary and secondary schools are not among the main drivers of transmission. Read:Ensure reproductive health rights of all: UN chief "Meanwhile, the risk of COVID-19 transmission in schools is manageable with appropriate mitigation strategies in most settings. The decision to open or close schools should be based on risk analysis and the epidemiological considerations in the communities where they are situated." They said reopening schools cannot wait for all teachers and students to be vaccinated. "With the global vaccine shortages plaguing low and middle-income countries, vaccinating frontline workers and those most at risk of severe illness and death will remain a priority. All schools should provide in-person learning as soon as possible, without barriers to access, including not mandating vaccination prior to school entry," said Fore and Azoulay.

Tourist spots and recreational centres at Cox's Bazar including the beach, have fallen silent as a result of the closure of all tourist attractions in the face of the second wave of the Covid-19 outbreak. No tourists who are already there are allowed to enter the beach. The beach shops were also closed due to lack of tourists. However, hotels, motels, guest houses, restaurants and shopping malls have been kept open on the condition of complying with hygiene rules. Tourists staying in Cox's Bazar have also started returning. Cox's Bazar Deputy Commissioner and President of the  District Corona Infection Prevention Committee Md. Mamunur Rashid said a directive from the tourism ministry reached the district administration on Thursday (April 1st) regarding closure of tourist spots.   Also read: Tourism suspended in Sundarbans till Apr 15 According to the directive, all tourist spots and entertainment centers including Cox's Bazar beach would be closed till April 14.   The district administration, tourist police and other concerned people would take actions as per the instructions of the government. Tourists were not allowed to enter the beach after receiving instructions from the ministry, said  Mamunur. Besides, all kinds of tourism related businesses including beach recreation umbrellas (kitkats), beach-bikes and jetskis had been shut down. The patrol of the tourist police had been intensified to keep a watch on the tourist centers including the beaches, concluded the Deputy Commissioner. Nur Mohammad Rabbi, manager of Seagull Hotel said that advance room bookings at hotel, motels were  being canceled due to the ban imposed on tourism. Also read: Covid 19: Movement of tourist ships on Teknaf-St Martin's route suspended Assistant Superintendent of Tourist Police Cox's Bazar Zone Chowdhury Mizanuzzaman said no one was allowed to enter the beach.  Besides, all the shops near the beach had been closed. Cox's Bazar Additional Deputy Commissioner Md Amin Al Parvez said, "A temporary shutdown has been declared to prevent public gatherings. Tourist spots, including the beach, will be reopened if the Corona situation returns to normal." Earlier on April 1, the Cox's Bazar district administration had announced closure of all recreational centres in the district including the sea beach until April 14. Moreover, the movement of tourist ships from Cox's Bazar to St.Martin's Island would also remain suspended during this period.

As the world is facing unprecedented challenges with the Covid-19 pandemic, the global death toll from the virus is approaching 2.8 million. The total death toll from the virus reached 2,791,072 while the total case count stood at 127,581,652 as of Tuesday morning, according to the data compiled by Johns Hopkins University (JHU). The US has recorded 30,330,688 cases with 550,003 fatalities. It has surpassed 30 million confirmed cases of Covid-19 on March 25. The new milestone comes as public health experts show cautious optimism three months into the US vaccination rollout. It is believed that 70% of Americans 65 and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine and Covid-19 deaths are below 1,000 a day on average for the first time since November, reports AP. Also read: WHO report says animals likely source of COVID Brazil reported 1,660 new Covid-19 deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the death toll in the country to 313,866, the country’s Health Ministry said on Monday. The ministry also reported that there were 38,927 new infections during the same period of time, bringing the national caseload to 12,573,615. Brazil is currently one of the global epicenters of the Covid-19 pandemic, with the world's second-worst outbreak in terms of both deaths and infections, only after the United States. The South American country has been facing a new wave of Covid-19 outbreak since January, which has overwhelmed its health system in most of the country's 27 federative units. India’s total tally reached 12,039,644 as of Tuesday while the country’s death toll mounted to 161,843. Covid situation in Bangladesh The country’s coronavirus caseload swelled to 600,895 on Monday after the health authorities recorded 5,181 new cases in 24 hours until the morning. Along with the high number of cases, 45 coronavirus-related deaths were also recorded, pushing the death tally to 8,949, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said in a handout. The latest cases were reported after testing 28,195 samples. The infection rate jumped to 18.38 percent on Monday from 17.65 percent on Sunday. However, the death rate stands at 1.49 percent. During this 24-hour period, 2,077 coronavirus patients recovered. So far, 538,018 patients have made recoveries. Twenty-eight people died in Dhaka Division, six in Chattogram, five in Rajshahi, three in Khulna and one each in Barishal, Mymensingh and Rangpur. So far, 5,081 people died in Dhaka division, 1,628 in Chattogram, 499 in Rajshahi, 577 in Khulna, 273 in Barishal, 317 in Sylhet, 373 in Rangpur and 201 in Mymensingh. Bangladesh reported its first cases on March 8, 2020 and the first death on March 18 the same year. Also read: Bangladesh’s Covid-19 tally crosses 6 lakh Amid the spike in infections, the government has taken a tougher stance to fight Covid-19 transmission. The Health Ministry sent letters to districts, directing the officials concerned to impose fines on people flouting Covid protocols. The country launched a countrywide vaccination drive on Feb 7. As the daily infection rate keeps rising, the government extended the closure of schools and colleges until May 23. The DGHS has identified 29 districts, including Dhaka and Chattogram, with higher rates of Coronavirus transmission. The areas have been dubbed ‘risky places’ considering the high number of Covid-19 cases. Also read: Covid-19 in Bangladesh: Govt not considering general holidays Meanwhile, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) issued an 18-point directive on Monday for the next two weeks in an effort to contain the spread of coronavirus. Besides, the Health Ministry has proposed partial lockdowns for some places with higher Coronavirus transmission rates.

The Bangladesh Premier League (BPL),  the country’s most lucrative domestic cricket event, will not be held in 2021.

Japan will not take part in China’s offer — accepted by the International Olympic Committee — to provide vaccines for “participants” in the postponed Tokyo Games and next year’s Beijing Winter Games.

Between April and October last year, at least 13,886 children were married off in 21 districts when Bangladesh was grappling with Coronavirus in its initial stage, according to a survey.