Ninety-eight percent of the Covid patients recently detected in Bangladesh are of the highly contagious Delta variant while just one percent are of South African Beta variant ones, says a BSMMU survey.   Vice-Chancellor of the BSMMU (Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University) Prof M Sharfuddin Ahmed, also the supervisor of Genome sequencing research project, revealed the survey report on Thursday after scrutinizing 300 samples collected from June 29 to July 30.   Read: Why might COVID-19 vaccine boosters be necessary? The aim of the research is to unveil the character of genome, type of mutation and discover the inter-relations of with global Covid-19 genome as well as preparing a database of Bangladesh Covid-19 genome.   This is the result of the first month of the BSMMU research and its updated result will be revealed in the months to follow. The genome sequencing was conducted through next generation sequencing after collecting the nasopharyngeal swab samples of Covid-19 positive patients.

Sramik Karmachari Oikya Parishad (SKOP), a platform of over a dozen labour rights bodies, on Monday demanded  Covid risk allowance for export-oriented factory workers and punishment for the owners for negligence in ensuring health protocols in workplaces. In a statement, the SKOP leaders strongly criticised the decision for opening the factories, which is mostly apparel ones, in an alarming situation with high Covid-19 infection and death rates, without making transport arrangements for workers to return to their workstations and protection measures in workplaces amid the Covid lockdown. Following the sudden announcement that the export-oriented factories would be open on August 01, tens of thousands of workers had to face untold sufferings and count over three-four times transport cost in their ways back to the respective workstations due to the Covid-19 lockdown after the Eid vacation, they bemoaned. Also read: Vaccination campaign for garment workers begins in Gazipur It was not possible for the workers (who are mostly readymade garment (RGM) workers) to follow the health protocols on their ways back to the workstations, they said. The SKOP leaders said the lives of workers were undermined for the owners’ interests by opening the factories without Covid-19 test arrangements in every factory gate, and promises from the owners to keep corona infected workers in isolations under their management, bear the responsibility of medical treatment for them and provide compensation in case of death. They asked not to terminate if any worker falls sick due to coronavirus infection. Also read: Ensuring nutrition for apparel workers can boost 20% productivity: Study The SKOP leaders who made the statement include its two joint coordinators Shahidullah Chowdhury and Nur Kutub Mannan, Mesbah Uddin Ahmed, Shah Mohd Zafar, Anwar Hossain, Razequzzaman Ratan, Saifuzzaman Badsha, Kamrul Ahsan and Dr Wazedul Islam Khan, said a release.

Twelve more people have died of Covid-19 and related causes at Kushtia General Hospital in the past 24 hours, authorities said on Tuesday morning. Of the deceased, eight were confirmed Covid-19 patients while four had symptoms of the virus, said Md Mejbaul Alam of the hospital. Read: Covid claims 20 more lives in Kushtia Some 253 Covid patients are currently undergoing treatment at the 250-bed hospital. In the past 24 hours, some 421 people have tested positive for Covid. "Some 1,262 samples were tested during the period," said Mejbaul. Read:Covid claims 12 more lives at Kushtia hospital The new cases have taken the infection rate to 33.36 percent in the district, he added. So far, 12,592 people have been identified with Covid-19 infection in the district. Of them, 423 have died and 7,994 recovered in to date, officials said.

A policeman, who was undergoing treatment for Covid-19 infection at Khulna General Hospital, died on Wednesday, officials said Thursday. Mohammad Azizur Rahman was working with the Khulna Court police as a constable. Mohammad Mahbub Hasan, superintendent of Khulna Police, said that Azizur tested positive for coronavirus on Tuesday after exhibiting symptoms like fever and cough for a couple of days. Also read: Khulna sees record 28 deaths in a single day On Wednesday, Azizur's condition worsened and he was brought to Khulna General Hospital from Paikgachha upazila, where he died in the afternoon. The body of the policeman has been handed over to his family members in Tala upazila of Satkhira district, the SP said. With the death of Azizur, the number of fatalities in the district has now risen to 97. Covid-19 continues to choke lives out of the residents of Khulna as 36 people died in the division in the past 24 hours, the highest in the country, officials said Wednesday. At Khulna General Hospital, some 156 patients are currently undergoing treatment at the corona unit. Also read: Khulna set to go under 7-day strict lockdown from June 22 Of them, 98 people are getting treatment in the red zone of the hospital, 22 in the yellow zone, 20 in ICU (intensive care unit), and 16 in HDU (high deficiency unit), hospital sources said.

The government has decided to keep passenger train services between Rajshahi and other parts of the country suspended from Friday in the wake of the increased detection rate of Covid-19 infection in the frontier districts. The suspension of services will be effective until midnight past June 17, Mohammad Shafiqur Rahman, director (public relations) of Bangladesh Railway, said Thursday. Bangladesh Railway came up with the announcement as the local administration has imposed an all-out lockdown in the Rajshahi city for a week, starting 5pm Friday, amid a spike in Covid-19 infections there. Also read: Train services to resume at half capacity from Monday No vehicle will be allowed into Rajshahi city and transports cannot leave the area. However, emergency vehicles are exempt from the lockdown. Rajshahi division confirmed 815 daily cases – the highest in the country — in the past 24 hours until Thursday morning. Eight people died from Covid-19 there during the same period, according to the Directorate General of Health Services. Also read: Passenger train services to remain suspended during lockdown: Minister On May 24, regular train services across the country were resumed after suspension of over a month as part of the government restrictions on people's movement to curb coronavirus transmission. However, the authorities were asked to keep 50% of seats vacant for ensuring social distancing. On April 5, passenger train services were suspended across the country as part of a countrywide lockdown – imposed to tackle the second wave of infection.

Bangladesh logged 61 more coronavirus-related deaths and 1,914 new cases in 24 hours until Tuesday morning, showing a slight downtrend in daily fatalities and an uptick in infections. The latest figures pushed up the death toll to 11,705 and the caseload to 7,65,596, according to a handout issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). However, the infection rate fell to 8.71 percent from Monday’s 8.95 percent while the fatality rate rose to 1.53 percent. Bangladesh has recorded less than 70 virus related deaths since Friday. The body count soared to over 100 during April 16-19 and on April 25 but since then the daily fatalities have been falling gradually. Bangladesh has so far tested 55,40,394 samples, 21,984 in the last 24 hours, according to DGHS handout data, provided this morning. There has been a steady decline in tests between April 28 and May 2, leading to fewer case counts. New cases declined between April 26 (3,306) and May 2 (1,359) before an upward curve in the next two following days. So far, 90.78 percent of the total patients (6,95,032) have recovered, including 3,870 new ones. The recovery number has been on the wane between April 28 and May 2 and picked up again from Monday. Also read: Covid-19 in Bangladesh: Around 21 pc of total deaths reported in April alone Bangladesh reported its first cases on March 8 last year, before confirming the first death 10 days later. 21% of total deaths in April April has been the worst month for Bangladesh with 2,404 fatalities, accounting for 20.99 percent of the total death toll, and 147,837 new cases, according to DGHS. In Bangladesh, 568 coronavirus-related deaths were reported in January, 281 in February and 638 in March. Dhaka division saw most of the deaths – 6,812 or 58.20 percent – of the total fatalities. Twenty-eight of the 61 deaths reported today are from Dhaka division and 18 from Chattogram division. Lockdown continues till May 16 The ongoing lockdown imposed on April 5 has been extended until May 16 but people are hardly following health safety rules. Also read: Lockdown to continue until May 16, intra-district public transport services from May 6 They are still crowding shopping malls and markets ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr, the biggest religious festival of the Muslims. Photos and videos shot by UNB correspondents show overcrowded shopping places and total indifference towards health guidelines. There will hardly be any positive outcome if the people don’t follow health rules to protect themselves and others around them from coronavirus. Meanwhile, intra-district public transport services will be allowed to resume from May 6. Vaccination drive Bangladesh kicked off its vaccination drive on February 7 with Oxford-AstraZeneca doses it purchased from the Serum Institute of India Pvt Ltd. Bangladesh 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. The administering of the first dose was announced of remaining suspended from April 26. Also read: Vaccines to be procured at any expense, says PM Hasina DGHS DG Prof ABM Khurshid Alam had assured that Bangladesh will get 2.1 million doses of vaccine by the first week of May. In the last 24 hours, 38 people have received the first dose and 83,540 have received the second dose of Covid vaccine, said the DGHS handout. The registration process for receiving the vaccine jab remains shut. Vaccine production The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on April 28 approved in principle a proposal for producing Russian and Chinese Covid-19 vaccines in Bangladesh. The government on April 29 approved the emergency use of Sinopharm, a Chinese Covid-19 vaccine, a day after approving the emergency use of Sputnik V vaccine of Russia. Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen on Tuesday said the Chinese government is working to start delivering Covid-19 vaccine doses before Eid-ul-Fitr although a 5-day May Day holiday is underway in China. Also read: Dhaka hopeful of getting vaccine doses from China before Eid Meanwhile Health Minister Zahid Maleque shared a more specific date – May 10. Incepta Pharmaceuticals, Popular Pharma and Health Care Pharma have the capacity of producing vaccines, and the Chinese vaccine could be produced locally, Director General of DGDA Mahbubur Rahman told reporters. On April 28, Dr Shahida Aktar, additional secretary of the Cabinet Division noted that the government will purchase vaccine technology from Russian and China through direct procurement method (DPM).

The death toll from Covid-19 in Bangladesh rose to 11,393 with 88 more fatalities in 24 hours until Thursday morning as the country finds it hard to stop the deadly virus. Health authorities also detected 2,341 new cases during the period as the pandemic keeps sweeping through the country. The infection rate dropped to 9.39 percent from Wednesday’s 10.48 percent while the mortality rate rose to 1.51 percent from 1.50 percent. The infection rate in the country came down below 10 percent after over a month as it reported 7.68 pc infection rate on March 17 and it rose to 10.45 the following day. Since then, the infection rate has been showing an upward. The country recorded 97 coronavirus-related deaths on Monday, 78 on Tuesday and 77 on Wednesday, showing a downtrend. It witnessed over 100 deaths from April 16-19 and on April 25. With the latest figure, 756,955 cases have been detected so far in the country, the Directorate General of Health Services said in a handout.  The number of recoveries now stands at 677,101, including 47822 new cases. This means, 89.45 percent of the patients have recovered till now. Bangladesh has so far tested 5,448,658 samples, including 24, 982 in the past 24 hours. Bangladesh reported its first coronavirus cases on March 8 last year and the first death on the 18th of that month. April, the fatal month   In the last 29 days, Bangladesh has seen 2,347 Coronavirus-related deaths and 21,712 new cases, making it the most fatal month since the outbreak began last year. The virus claimed 568 lives in January this year, 281 in February and 638 in March.  Dhaka division remains the worst-hit region, registering most of the deaths – 6,658 or 58.44 percent.  Forty-eight of the 88 deaths reported today are from Dhaka division and 22 from Chattogram division. Lockdown extended The disturbing surge in Covid cases prompted the government to go for a lockdown from early April. Having failed to achieve the intended result, it imposed a strict lockdown from April 11 and extended it to April 28.  On Wednesday, the government issued a circular extending the lockdown till May 5, as there is no improvement in the Covid-19 situation. However, shops and shopping malls will remain open from 10am to 8pm during the extended period, he said. Vaccination Bangladesh kicked off its vaccination drive on February 7 with Oxford-AstraZeneca doses it purchased from the Serum Institute of India Pvt Ltd.  Bangladesh 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. The administering of the first dose remained suspended from Monday. DGHS DG Prof ABM Khurshid Alam assured that Bangladesh will get 2.1 million doses of vaccine by the first week of May. Vaccine production in Bangladesh The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday approved in principle a proposal for producing Russian and Chinese Covid-19 vaccines in Bangladesh. The government on Thursday approved the emergency use of Sinopharm, a Chinese Covid-19 vaccine. It approved the emergency use of Sputnik V Vaccine of Russia a day earlier.  “We’ll get 5 lakh doses of the Chinese vaccine as a gift within 7-10 days. Then we’ll start distribution. Then the government will start buying those on G2G basis,” Mahbubur Rahman, Director General of DGDA told reporters on Thursday. Incepta Pharmaceuticals, Popular Pharma and Health Care Pharma have the capacity of producing vaccines, and the Chinese vaccine could be produced locally, Mahbubur Rahman said. On Thursday, Dr Shahida Aktar, additional secretary of the Cabinet Division noted that the government will purchase vaccine technology from Russian and China through direct procurement method (DPM) Bangladesh shuts border with India On April 26, Bangladesh closed its border with India for any kind of movement except that of cargoes for the next 14 days as the coronavirus situation in the neighbouring country goes out of control. Also read: Bangladesh approves emergency use of Chinese Covid vaccine    

Bangladesh reported 78 more coronavirus-related deaths and 3,031 new cases on Tuesday morning, showing a downtrend. The country witnessed over 100 deaths from April 16 to 19 and April 25 as the second wave of the virus hit Bangladesh. The daily infection rate slipped to 12:51 percent from Monday’s 12.82 percent while the mortality rate remained static at 1.49 percent. So far, 751,659 cases and 11,228 deaths have been confirmed, the Directorate General of Health Services said in a handout. The number of recoveries now stands at 666,927 including 5,234 new cases which indicates 88.73 percent of the patients have recovered. Also read: FM to join China-led virtual meeting on vaccine cooperation  The new cases were confirmed after testing 24,237 samples in the last 24 hours until morning. Bangladesh has so far tested 5,395,524 samples. Bangladesh reported its first coronavirus cases on March 8 last year and the first death on the 18th of that month. Deaths, cases soar in April In the last 27 days, the country witnessed 2,182 fatalities and 136,882 new cases, making it the most fatal month since the outbreak began last year. The virus claimed 568 lives in January this year, 281 in February and 638 in March. Registering most of the deaths – 6,564 or 58.46 percent, Dhaka division remains the worst-hit region. Of the latest fatalities, 50 were reported from Dhaka division and 10 from Chattogram division. Six each died in Khulna, Rajshahi, three in Sylhet, one in Barishal, and two in Mymensingh divisions. Lockdown extended A rapid increase in Covid infections prompted the government to enforce a lockdown from early April which failed to achieve the intended result.  

Bangladesh registered the highest number of daily infections with 7,626 new cases and 63 more deaths during the last 24 hours till Wednesday morning amid the deteriorating coronavirus situation. With today’s figure, over 7,000 new Coronavirus cases were recorded for the fourth consecutive day, according to a handout issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). With the new 63 deaths, the Covid-19 fatalities rose to 9,447 while the mortality rate dropped slightly to 1.43 percent from Tuesday’s 1.44 percent. Also read:Shots in little arms: COVID-19 vaccine testing turns to kids The infection rate jumped to 22.02 percent from 21.02 percent on Wednesday. During the 24-hour period, 3,256 patients recovered, taking the number of recoveries to 561,639, the DGHS handout said. Although the government enforced a 7-day lockdown from Monday restricting people’s movement, shutting shops, markets and suspending operations of public transport (bus, train and domestic flights), people took it lightly and moving around freely defying the restriction, posing risks of more transmission. However, the movement of city buses resumed on Wednesday, two days after the enforcement of the lockdown, as the government has allowed public transport services in city corporation areas. Coronavirus claimed 568 lives in Bangladesh in January this year, while 281 in February and 638 in March. Bangladesh has so far recorded 659,278 coronavirus cases, the DGHS handout added. Also read:No risk of contracting Covid-19 due to vaccination: DGHS The number of daily cases and infection rate had dropped below 5 percent earlier this year but then the infection rate continued to rise amid people’s reluctance about maintaining health safety rules.

A record surge in fresh Covid-19 infection in the country has forced the authorities concerned to close Bangladesh National Zoo in the capital’s Mirpur and Rangpur Zoo on Friday. They will remain closed for visitors until further order, according to a decision taken by the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock. Fisheries Minister SM Rezaul Karim sought cooperation from all concerned parties in this regard, said a handout of his ministry. "We’ve decided to keep the National Zoo and Rangpur Zoo, which are under the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, closed from today (Friday, April 2) until further notice so that the coronavirus infection does not increase due to the gatherings of visitors," he said. Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh records 6,000+ cases for 2nd straight day The government is taking all possible steps to prevent the spread of the virus, said the Minister. Bangladesh recorded more than 6,000 new coronavirus cases for the second consecutive day on Friday. It was the fourth time in five days that the country reported its highest daily case count. The health authorities confirmed 6,830 new infections in the afternoon. The infection rate rose to 23.28 percent from 22.94 on Thursday when the country recorded 6,469 cases, the highest since the beginning of the virus outbreak in the country in March last year. Noting that the Prime Minister's Office has already issued an 18-point directive, Minister Karim urged the people to follow the directives of the government. Also read: Fighting the Second Wave: Govt seeks stricter implementation of PMO directives On March 20, 2020 the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock closed down the National Zoo and Rangpur Zoo for the first time amid the Covid-19 pandemic to prevent transmission of the virus. Later, the National Zoo was reopened for the visitors on some conditions on November 1, 2020 considering the entertainment issue, physical and mental well-being of the Dhaka city dwellers as well as the government’s revenue loss, said the handout. The PMO on March 29 issued the 18-point directives for the next two weeks in an effort to restrict the spread of coronavirus in the country. Also read: National Zoo to reopen from Nov 1 The directives mostly are related to restriction on public gatherings, using masks, ensuring 14-day quarantine rule and maintaining other Covid-19 health protocols. All the ministries, divisions, departments and agencies concerned were asked to take necessary measures to implement the directives.