Malaria has gripped an inaccessible hilly upazila of Rangamati district. Jurachari upazila has seen as many as 388 cases of the vector-borne disease in the past two months, a sudden spurt that has put the local health authorities on high alert. Caused by Plasmodium parasites, malaria affects over 200 million people worldwide annually. This is according to the World Health Organization. According to the Jurachari upazila health complex authorities, some 265 people were infected with malaria in July. The figure was 123 in June. Most of the victims were from the inaccessible Moidang and Dumdumya union parishads. Read: Geoengineering can put 1 billion people back at risk of Malaria: Icddr’b study Ward members of Dumdumya union, Laxmi Lal Chakma and Kala Cokha Tanchainga, told UNB, “Every week, at least 7-8 cases of malaria are reported from here." According to doctors, June and July usually see a spurt in malaria cases in the hilly region. "The situation may prevail till October,” said Dr Ananya Chakma, upazila health and family planning officer.   Samur Pangkhoa, headman of Dumdmya mouza, said, “In the last two years, malaria cases were low. However, this year, we are witnessing a rise in the cases." Amar Shanti Chakma of Bagakhali Community Clinic, also said that the number of malaria cases are on the rise. However, Dr Ananya allayed fears. "Even if malaria cases are increasing, there is no need to panic. We have adequate stock of medicines at the upazila health complex and community clinics."

Bangladesh logged 31 more Covid-related deaths with health authorities logging 13,154 fresh cases in 24 hours till Tuesday morning. The daily positivity rate slightly declined to 29.17 per cent from Monday’s 29.77 per cent after testing 45,358 samples during the period, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). The fresh numbers took the country’s total fatalities to 28,425 while the caseload mounted to 1,811,987. Read:175 officials including MD of Barapukuria Coal Mine contract Covid; coal extraction suspended Among the new deceased, 15 were men and 16 women. Nineteen deaths were reported in Dhaka division while seven in Chattogram, two in Sylhet, and one each in Rajshahi, Khulna and Rangpur divisions. Meanwhile, the mortality rate further declined to 1.57 per cent. However, the recovery rate also declined to 86.70 per cent with the recovery of 2,721 more patients during the 24-hour period.

Fifty-eight new dengue patients have been hospitalised in 24 hours until Friday morning, health authorities said. The number of fatalities from the mosquito-borne disease remained unchanged at 98 in the current year as no fresh death was reported during the period, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). Read:Dengue in Bangladesh: 118 more hospitalized in 24 hrs Of the deceased, 90 people died in Dhaka division alone, two each in Chattogram, Mymensingh and Khulna divisions and one each in Rajshahi and Barishal divisions. Among the new patients, 56 are undergoing treatment in hospitals in Dhaka while the remaining two cases have been reported from outside the division. Some 446 patients diagnosed with dengue are receiving treatment in the country as of Monday. Read: Dengue in Bangladesh: 91 more hospitalized in 24 hrs Of them, 336 patients are receiving treatment at different hospitals in the capital while the remaining 110 were listed outside Dhaka. Since January, some 26,917 patients have been admitted to different hospitals with dengue in the country. So far, 26, 373 dengue patients have left hospitals after recovery, said DGHS.

Sylhet division has logged 22 new Covid-related deaths in 24 hours till Wednesday morning, as the Delta variant of the deadly coronavirus continues to wreak havoc across the country. Of the total deaths, 11 were reported in Sylhet district alone, according to health authorities. Read:Mass Vaccination Drive: Impressive numbers get jabbed in Chandpur, Sylhet city According to the authorities, 557 new infections were detected in the division during the period. With the fresh figures, the total fatalities and cases in the division now stand at 844 and 47,011, respectively. Besides, 82 people have been admitted to the corona unit of Sylhet Osmani Medical College and Hospital in the past 24 hours. Read: Sylhet division reports highest single-day Covid cases of 802 Currently, some 469 people are undergoing treatment at the hospital.

Health authorities reported 170 new dengue cases in 24 hours till Friday morning amid a spike in the Aedes mosquito-borne disease in the country. Bangladesh has been seeing over 100 dengue patients for a week, adding worries to the country’s health services, already overburdened with growing Covid cases and fatalities. Of the new cases, 164 were reported in Dhaka while only six from outside Dhaka, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). Read: Dengue vs. Severe Dengue: Causes, Symptoms, Treatment, Prevention According to the (DGHS), 709 patients are currently receiving treatment at different hospitals across the country, while just 30 outside Dhaka. Some 2,462 patients have been admitted to different hospitals with dengue since January and 1,749 of them have been released after they recovered. The DGHS reported 1,193 dengue cases and three confirmed dengue-related deaths in 2020. Read: 143 more dengue cases reported in 24 hrs According to official statistics, 101,354 dengue cases and 179 deaths were recorded in Bangladesh in 2019. Dengue fever was first reported in Bangladesh in 2000, claiming 93 lives that year. In the years that followed, the country learned to deal with the disease much better.  The fatalities had almost fallen to zero at one stage, before surging again in 2018, leading to the horrific crisis the following year.

Local health authorities recorded 14 more Covid-related deaths in Chattogram district in 24 hours till Sunday morning. During the period, 709 people tested positive for Covid-19 after the test of 2,082 samples in nine laboratories, said Chattogram Civil Surgeon Dr Sheikh Fazle Rabbi. Read: 10 Covid deaths reported in Chattogram in a day Seven of the deaths were reported from the city while the rest from different upazilas of the district. So far, 65,008 people have been infected with the virus while 771 died in the district. Read: 6 of family hurt in Chattogram as cylinder leak causes fire Of the total infected people, 416 were from Chattogram city and the rest 293 from different upazilas of the district. The infection rate is very high in Sitakunda upazila, said sources at the Civil Surgeon office.

As the Covid-19 cases and deaths keep rising in Khulna, health authorities recorded 28 more deaths in the division in 24 hours until Sunday morning. Of them, five people died in Khulna district, five in Bagerhat, four in Kushita, four in Jashore, four in Narail, two each in Chuadanga and Jhenaidah and Meherpur district. During this period, 1,202 people were infected with the deadly virus, said Rasheda Sultana, director (health) of Khulna division. READ: 9 more die of Covid in Khulna In Khulna division, the first case of Covid-19 was detected in Chuadanga on March 19, 2020. So far, 52,167 people have been infected with the virus in ten districts of the division and the death toll from the virus reached 981. A total of 36,615 people have recovered to date. READ: Khulna division sees 20 Covid deaths in a day Khuna district went under  weeklong lockdown on June 22 due to the worsening Covid situation.

Health authorities have recorded 28 deaths in Khulna division in the last 24 hours until Sunday morning, the highest ever fatalities logged in a day. Read:Khulna set to go under 7-day strict lockdown from June 22 Of them, seven people died in Kushita district, two each in Khulna, Satkhira and Bagerhat districts, four each in Jashore and Jhenaidah districts, five in Chuadanga and one each in Narail and Magura districts. Besides, 763 people turned out to be positive in the division during the same period, said Rasheda Sultana, director (Health) of Khulna division. She said 194 people made recovery from Covid-19 during the period. Read: 11 die of Covid at Khulna hospital Health authorities  recorded 22 deaths on Saturday, eight on Friday and 18 on Thursday in the division. The first death in Khulna division was reported from Chuadanga on March 19. So far, 45,032 people have been found infected with the virus in ten districts of the division and the death toll from the virus reached 825. Read:A battle for breath in Khulna as Covid cases surge A total of 34,320 people have recovered to date.

Health authorities have detected the cases of Indian variant of coronavirus in seven workers of Ashrayan Project in Nawabganj upazila, Keraniganj. Upazila health officer Dr Mohammad Shahidul Islam said on Saturday night that 10 workers who came from Chapainawabganj district were tested for coronavirus and seven of them detected with the Indian variant. Read: IEDCR study of 50 samples finds 40 are Delta On May 18, the 10 workers came to join Matabpur Ashrayan Project at Nawabganj Keilile union. They all came in a truck along 63 other fellowmen. As some of them had been suffering from cough, cold and fever, the authorities asked them on May 23 to provide their samples for Covid-19 tests but they refused to do so. On May 25, a separate medical team was formed and it collected samples from some of the workers. After laboratory tests, the results of 10 workers came out Covid positive. Apprehending the existence of Indian variant, the medical team sent the samples of the Covid-19 patients to the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), Dhaka where doctors detected seven, out of the 10, infected with Indian variant on June 3. Read: 8 Indian variant cases identified in Jashore Now all the infected patients are undergoing treatment at the National Institute of Diseases of the Chest and Hospital (NIDCH), Dhaka. “It’s a dangerous sign and all of them have been asked to follow the government's health safety protocols,” said Dr Shahidul. The highly contagious Indian variant of the coronavirus was detected in Bangladesh for the first time on May 8. Read: Covid patient infected with Indian variant held in Chandpur Experts fear that Bangladesh may face the worst outbreak of the deadly virus by the end of June. Bangladesh closed its border with India for any kind of movement except that of cargo on April 26 which was later extended till June 14 to control the spread of Coronavirus as the situation in the neighbouring country deteriorated.  

As many as nine Covid-19 patients have died at Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital in the past 24 hours, health officials said on Thursday. Deputy Director of Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital, Saiful Ferdous, said, “The nine patients were undergoing treatment at the hospital. They succumbed to coronavirus after their condition worsened." Read:Thakurgaon seals border areas to contain Covid “Of the deceased, five were from Chapainawabganj district, two from Rajshahi, and one each from Naogaon and Pabna districts,” he added. With the fresh deaths, the district's fatality count has reached 77 people since May 24. Meanwhile, the hospital authorities are also struggling to deal with the sudden surge in Covid cases in the district. As many as 224 Covid-19 patients are currently undergoing treatment at the hospital. Of the 224, some 101 are from Rajshahi district and 96 from Chapainawabganj district. In the past 24 hours, some 29 people have been admitted to the hospital with Covid-19 symptoms. Of them, 14 are from Rajshahi district, 11 from Chapainawabganj, three from Naogaon and one from Pabna district, said sources at the hospital. “Only critical Covid patients are being admitted to the hospital,” said Saiful. Read: Bangladesh’s frontier districts brace for Covid ‘catastrophe’: Experts It may be mentioned here that authorities in some border districts have already imposed strict restrictions for a week to contain the spread of coronavirus. This was after the government recently empowered the district authorities to take a call on lockdown restrictions in their respective areas. Rajshahi Deputy Commissioner Abdul Jalil announced the restrictions on Wednesday afternoon. No one will be allowed to step out of the house from 7 pm to 8 am in Rajshahi until June 9 unless there's an emergency. All business establishments will remain shut and no vehicles are allowed to ply on the roads except those providing emergency services. However, restaurants and traders can provide their services online. Situation in Bangladesh Bangladesh on Wednesday recorded 34 new coronavirus-related deaths and some 2,000 fresh cases in 24 hours. Health authorities detected 1,988 new cases after testing 20,259 samples during the period. The number of tests has also increased over the past one week. Read: Covid protocols go for a toss at Sonahat Land Port With the new cases, the total caseload has risen to 8,04,293,  according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). The new deaths have pushed up the fatality count to 12,694. Bangladesh reported its first coronavirus cases on March 8 last year and the first death on the 18th of that month.