coronavirus situation
Global Covid fatalities up one-third over past week
The number of Covid-related deaths, registered worldwide in the past seven days, grew 30% compared to the previous seven-day period, reaching about 70,000, according to TASS calculations.
The number of confirmed cases all over the globe stands at 3.7 million, compared to 3.5 million a week earlier.
The pace of infection has intensified in various parts of the world. In the US, the number of confirmed cases registered daily more than tripled in the reported period, exceeding 60,000 daily. It may be the start of the fourth Covid-19 wave in the country.
Indonesia and Malaysia have reached the peak of the outbreak with about 45,000 and 12,000 new cases registered daily. At the same time, the situation is worsening in other parts of Asia. Iran is now reporting about 25,000 confirmed cases daily – the country's all-time high since the start of the pandemic – and Turkey – almost 10,000 – twice as high as during the previous week.
Read: Global Covid cases top 193 million
New wave in Europe
A new wave of the pandemic reached Europe, primarily its western regions. The daily number of confirmed cases almost doubled in Italy, to 5,500 cases per day, and the authorities have started to impose new restrictions.
From early August, citizens will be allowed to visit cafes, gyms, museums and public events only if they obtained a "Covid passport," issued to vaccinated persons, convalescents and people with negative PCR tests.
Similar measures have already been introduced in France, where the daily number of confirmed cases tripled since the previous week. On Thursday, more than 21,000 Covid-19 cases were registered in the country, the biggest single-day tally since early May.
The UK has recorded the highest number of cases in Europe. In the past week, the country's daily case count exceeded 50,000 twice. Overall, about 320,000 people contracted the infection in the UK in the past week.
The pace of the infection is growing in other European countries as well. For example, cases in Germany increased 45% in the past week compared to the previous week, and 20% in Spain.
Read: Chinese COVID shot may offer elderly poor protection
Fatalities spike
The Covid-19 mortality is on the rise primarily in Asia, with Indonesia being hit hardest, registering about 1,300 deaths per day. Iran and Malaysia report about 200 Covid fatalities daily.
However, mortality is declining in the majority of Latin American countries, which went through the second wave of the pandemic in spring and early summer. For example, Brazil is registering about 1,100 cases daily, the lowest number since February.
Despite a sharp increase in cases, mortality remains low in European countries.
However, the overall mortality from the novel coronavirus infection is now declining and currently stands at approximately 2.15%.
Covid fatalities, infections in Bangladesh drop for 3rd straight day; 166 more die
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 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 had been hovering at nearly 200 for the last two weeks. It reported the highest daily Covid-19 fatality number – 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).
Read: Dhaka to receive 2.45 lakh AstraZeneca jabs from Tokyo Saturday
Meanwhile, the daily test positivity rate fell to 31.05% from Thursday's 32.19% when the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a 5% or below rate.
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%.
So far, Bangladesh has administered at least 11,565,087 doses of Covid vaccines – enough to have vaccinated around 3.1% of the country's population, assuming every person needs two doses.
The government on Friday reimposed the countrywide strict lockdown following an eight-day pause for Eid-ul-Azha. The new restrictions will continue till August 5, unless extended again.
The country imposed its toughest lockdown at the start of July. Under the lockdown, people were only allowed to leave home to buy essentials and for emergencies.
Read: India working to resume vaccine export to Bangladesh, reiterates Doraiswami
With the recent removal of the curbs ahead of Eid celebrations, people were seen breaking Covid-19 rules while they were on the streets and in markets and malls.
At least 82.67 lakh subscribers of the four telecom operators left Dhaka during July 15-20 to celebrate Eid, according to Post and Telecommunication Minister Mustafa Jabbar.
The WHO has reported that globally, Covid-19 cases and deaths had soared after periods of decline, with the reversal spurred in part by the delta variant.
Ferry-launch suspended from Friday morning
All water transports, including ferries, launches, speedboats and trawlers, will halt operation from 6 am Friday as the country begins another round of strict lockdown fearing a spread of the coronavirus infections following Eid celebration.
As per the July 13 cabinet decision, Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Authority (BIWTA) ordered water transports services to remain closed from 6 am on July 23 to 12 am on August 5, said a media release on Thursday.
Also read: Strict lockdown from Friday, again
Meanwhile, no passenger vehicles and transports will be permitted on ferry from Friday (July 23) morning, as per another notification from Bangladesh Inland Water Transport Corporation (BIWTC) issued on July 9.
However, emergency vehicles and ambulances would be allowed to cross in compliance with strict health guidelines.
Also read: Bangladesh loses 187 more lives as Covid situation remains girm
Both the notifications said that action would be taken against those who disobey the orders.
Bangladesh loses 187 more lives as Covid situation remains girm
Bangladesh reported 187 more Covid-19-related deaths in 24 hours until Thursday morning as the vaccination drive failed to gather pace.
The virus also infected 3,697 others during the period as Bangladesh observed the last day with the lockdown rules relaxed.
With the fresh figures, the total caseload from Covid stands at 11,40,200 while the death toll rose to 18,685, according to a handout issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The country saw 200+ Covid-related deaths for the last two weeks on average.
Bangladesh reported its highest daily Covid-19 fatality of 231 on Monday.
The new cases were reported after testing 11, 486 samples. The case positivity rate increased to 32.19 % from Wednesday’s 30.48% %, said the DGHS.
Read: 22 more die of Covid at Rajshahi hospital
Meanwhile, the country’s fatality rate increased slightly to 1.64%.
So far, 9,69,610 people have recovered from the disease, taking the recovery rate to 85.04%
Dhaka division reported 75 of the deaths while Khulna saw 44 and Chattogram 23 deaths. Besides, 15 people died in Rangpur, 10 in Rajshahi, 11 in Barishal, five in Mymensingh and four in Sylhet divisions.
Of the deaths, one was within 11-20 years of age; four were within 21-30; 20 between 31-40, 12 between 41-50; 49 between 51-60; 64 were between 61-70 years; 27 were between 71-80 years; eight between 81-90, and two were between 91-100 years of age.
With over 4,000 deaths so far, July looks to be the most fatal month since the country saw its fast Covid cases in March, 2020.
Earlier, the country saw 2,404 Covid deaths in April, 1,169 in May and 1,884 in June.
Read: Khulna division sees 40 new Covid deaths
Also, July was the most fatal month in 2020, reporting 1,264 deaths followed by 1,197 deaths in June that year.
Hospitals are now overwhelmed with patients and struggling to cope with the country’s devastating second wave of Covid infections, driven by the Delta variant.
Upping its guard against the devastating Delta variant of Covid-19, the Bangladesh government on Thursday announced the resumption of the countrywide strict lockdown from July 23.
The restrictions are to come into force at 8am on July 23 and will continue till August 5 midnight, unless extended again.
Muslims in Bangladesh ready to celebrate Eid-ul-Azha Wednesday amid Covid spike
Eid-ul-Azha, the second largest religious festival of Muslims, will be celebrated in Bangladesh on Wednesday with Covid-19’s Delta variant wreaking havoc across the country, shattering death records almost every day.
Bangladesh is now battling the deadlier 2nd wave of Covid-19 with over 200 deaths on average over the last two weeks.
Concerns are growing among people over possible hike in Covid deaths and cases after the celebrations of Eid-ul-Azha as the movement of people increased remarkably after the withdrawal of the strict lockdown ahead of Eid. A large number of people left the capital in crowded vehicles ignoring the Covid transmission risk.
Eid-ul-Azha is celebrated on the 10th of Zilhaj to commemorate the true spirit of sacrifice made by Prophet Ibrahim (AS). On this day, Prophet Ibrahim had offered to sacrifice his son, Ismail, who willingly submitted to the will of his father to please Allah.
But the Almighty in His benign mercy spared Hazrat Ismail (AS) and instead sent a ram to be sacrificed.
Also read: Bangladesh loses 200 more lives amid its grim battle with Covid
Meanwhile, the government has taken various safety measures to make that the celebration does not help the pandemic worsens further.
This year, Eid jamaats in different areas across the country would be held as per decisions taken by local administrations in consultation with public representatives and local dignitaries depending upon the Covid situation in their respective areas and maintaining recommended health guidelines.
The Religious Affairs Ministry issued some guidelines on offering Eid-ul-Azha prayer on Tuesday.
As per the guidelines, no carpet will be allowed at mosques while mosques will be disinfected before prayers.
The devotees have been asked to bring prayer mats from home.
The devotees must wear masks inside mosques and avoid using prayer mats and caps that were stored earlier there.
Also read: Gazipur gridlocked amid pandemic as hundreds head home for Eid
It also suggested devotees go to mosques with ablution and wash their hands for 20 seconds with soap.
Soaps, hand sanitizers and water should be available at the place where people make ablution at the entrance of mosques or Eidgahs.
Devotees should maintain distance from each other following health guidelines.
Children, elderly people, people with physical ailment, and those involved in taking care of patients will not be allowed to attend Eid prayer.
All have to abide by the directives of the Health Service Division, local administrations and law enforcement agencies.
Besides, the devotees were advised to shun handshaking and hugging after the Eid prayer which has been a common practice throughout the world.
The Religious Affairs Ministry urged the imams and managing committees of mosques to ensure proper implementation of the directives.
Also read: Five Eid jamaats to be held at National Mosque
The Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock issued specific guidelines over sacrificing animals.
Local administrations, law enforcement agencies, public representatives, staffers of the Islamic Foundation and managing committees of mosques would be implementing the directives.
Eid jamaats at national mosque
Five Eid jamaats will be held at the Baitul Mukarram National Mosque from 7 am on the day of Eid-ul-Azha.
The Islamic Foundation, Bangladesh revealed the schedules in a media release on Sunday.
The first Eid jamaat will be held at 7am and the next at 8am, 9am, 10 am and 10:45 am.
Bangladesh loses 200 more lives amid its grim battle with Covid
Bangladesh reported 200 more deaths linked to Covid-19 in 24 hours until Tuesday morning, plunging the country into uncertainty.
The virus also infected 11,579 others during the period as Bangladesh stepped into a three-day Eid holiday with the lockdown rules relaxed.
With the fresh figures, the total caseload from Covid stands at 11,28,889 while the death toll rose to 18,325, according to a handout issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The country has been seeing 200+ Covid-related deaths for the last two weeks on average.
Bangladesh reported its highest daily Covid-19 fatality of 231 on Monday.
Also read: Chattogram records highest single-day Covid deaths at 15
The new cases were reported after testing 39, 510 samples. The case positivity rate slightly declined to 29.31% from Monday’s 29.59 %, said the DGHS.
Meanwhile, the country’s fatality rate remained static at 1.62%.
So far, 9,51,340 people have recovered from the disease, taking the recovery rate to 84.27%.
Dhaka division reported 51 of the deaths while Khulna saw 50 and Chattogram 49 deaths. Besides, 12 people died in Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions each, 11 in Sylhet, eight in Mymensingh and seven in Barishal divisions.
Of the deaths, one was within 11-20 years of age; six were within 21-30; 12 between 31-40, 27 between 41-50; 48 between 51-60; 62 were between 61-70 years; 35 were between 71-80 years; eight between 81-90, and one was between 91-100 years of age.
Also read: Khulna division logs 43 new Covid deaths
With 3822 deaths so far, July looks to be the most fatal month since the country saw its fast Covid cases in March, 2020.
Earlier, the country saw 2,404 Covid deaths in April, 1,169 in May and 1,884 in June.
Also, July was the most fatal month in 2020, reporting 1,264 deaths followed by 1,197 deaths in June that year.
Hospitals are now overwhelmed with patients and struggling to cope with the country’s devastating second wave of Covid infections, driven by the Delta variant.
Bangladesh to receive 20 lakh doses of Sinopharm vaccine Saturday
Bangladesh will receive 20 lakh doses of Sinopharm vaccine from China on Saturday night as part of the commercial agreement as the country has accelerated its vaccination drive.
Deputy Chief of Mission at Chinese Embassy in Dhaka Hualong Yan on Friday told UNB that the vaccine doses will arrive at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in two aircraft.
He said China will also provide 10 lakh doses of Sinopharm vaccine in addition to the 11 lakh doses already received as a gift from it.
"This is a gift for our Bangladeshi brothers and sisters in their fight against the pandemic," Hualong Yan said.
Read: China to continue providing vaccine aid to Bangladesh: Wang Yi
Bangladesh has already received 20 lakh doses of Sinopharm vaccine as part of commercial purchase from China.
Bangladesh will receive initially 1.5 crore doses of vaccine as part of a commercial purchase agreement.
Hualong said China stands ready to provide support and assistance to help with Bangladesh government's poverty alleviation through the China-South Asian Countries Poverty Alleviation and Cooperative Development Center.
Earlier, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China will continue to provide Bangladesh with the Covid vaccines to help Bangladesh fight the epidemic.
Read: Covid-19: Government orders 66 crore vaccine doses worth RS 14,505 crore
He also said China is willing to work with Bangladesh to maintain the momentum of the development of the strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries.
The Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister met Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momon in Tashkent and discussed the issues on the sidelines of the International Conference on “Central and South Asia: Regional connectivity - Challenges and opportunities” on Thursday.
Wang Yi said that China and Bangladesh are good neighbours and friends and the two sides always adhere to equal treatment and mutual respect, continue to deepen friendly cooperation, and actively jointly build the "Belt and Road".
Guidelines issued for haats: Elderly, children not allowed among other directives
The elderlies and children will not be allowed to enter the cattle market ahead of Eid-ul Azha this year, according to guidelines provided by the government.
The Press Information Department (PID) issued an official notice on Wednesday regarding government guidelines to contain the spread of coronavirus in cattle markets.
According to these guidelines, market management should restrict or regulate the entrance of elderly people and children as they are more vulnerable to contagious disease.
Also read: Countrywide digital cattle market launched, gets good response
The markets should have separate entry and exit points alongside hand washing facilities, hand sanitisers and temperature measuring devices.
According to the notice, the markets cannot be set up on main roads or in places that create traffic congestion.
Also read: Cattle markets open in Dhaka amid low arrival, high prices
Mobile courts will take necessary legal actions against those not following the directives, warned the notice.
The notice urged to promote trading of sacrificial animals from the 241 digitals cattle markets (digital haats) set up across the nation.
Mushfiq’s parents test positive for Covid-19
Bangladesh stalwart Mushfiqur Rahim’s parents have been tested positive for Covid-19 and they are being brought to Dhaka for treatment.
Mushfiq is currently travelling to Bangladesh from Zimbabwe where he had gone last month to play a series against the hosts.
It is understood that after coming to know about his parents’ Covid-19 report, Mushfiq decided to back home immediately. He is now set to miss the three-match ODI and T20I series against Zimbabwe.
Also read: Covid claims 210 more lives in Bangladesh, 12,383 more test positive
He earlier had decided to not play the T20I series in this tour, instead, have some days with the family to avert bubble fatigue. However, he later changed his decision, had opted to play the whole series.
But now, for this family emergency, he is going to take a flight to Bangladesh later today (Zimbabwe time).
After winning the one-off Test against Zimbabwe, Bangladesh are now gearing up for the three-match ODI series against the hosts. The ODIs will take place on July 16, 18 and 20.
After that, both the teams will play a three-match T20 series as well which will be played on July 23, 25 and 27. All the matches will be played at the same venue— the Harare Sports Club.
Biman to operate domestic flights from July 15 to July 22
National flag carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines will operate flights in all internal routes from July 15 to 22.
The national airlines service announced the decision through a media release Tuesday, followed by the cabinet division’s notification on lifting lockdown restrictions from July 14 midnight to the morning of July 23.
During the period, Biman’s three flights to Chattogram and Syedpur, two each to Cox’s Bazar, Jashore, Sylhet and one each to Rajshahi and Barishal will fly from Dhaka.
Also read: Bangladesh eases lockdown restrictions ahead of Eid
The passengers can buy tickets for the flights from any travel agency approved by Biman sales office or Biman’s website, mobile apps making payments through bkash, Rocket, Vissa, Mastercard or AMEX card.
However, strict restrictions will resume from July 23 and will continue until Aug. 5, as per the order.
Earlier on Monday, it was reported that Bangladesh Railway is going to restore its passenger train services for eight days from July 15-22 across the country, keeping 50% of the seats empty apparently to facilitate the movement of people during the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha.
Also read: Stringent lockdown: Biman's domestic flights suspended till July 7
Public transport services and business institutions will also be allowed to function.
Eid-ul-Azha will be celebrated on July 21 amid the Delta variant of Covid-19 wreaking havoc across the country, shattering records every day.
A record rise in the number of Covid cases and fatalities in recent days prompted the government to enforce a nationwide stringent lockdown suspending all outdoor activities unless there's an emergency.