At least five people have died from complications of Covid-19 in Cumilla in the past 24 hours, pushing the death toll in the district to 296, health officials said Saturday. The district has also recorded as many as 92 new cases in the past 24 hours, taking the tally to 10,002. Among them, 78 are from the city corporation area. District Civil Surgeon Dr Mir Mobarak Hossain said the five died during treatment at Cumilla Medical College and Hospital. "Of them, two were men and three women. All of them were aged between 55 and 70 years," he said. Bangladesh has of late seen a sudden surge in both the number of cases and fatalities. Experts attribute the spike in Covid cases to violation of health guidelines. Situation in Bangladesh Bangladesh Friday recorded more than 6,000 new coronavirus cases for the second day in the row, as the government ramps up efforts to contain the transmission of the virus. It was the fourth time in five days that Bangladesh reported its highest daily coronavirus cases, when the health authorities confirmed 6,830 new infections on Friday afternoon. Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh records 6,000+ cases for 2nd straight day On Wednesday, the number of new cases was 5,358. It was 5,042 on Tuesday and 5,181 on Monday. There is hardly any bed available at hospitals treating coronavirus patients. The government is increasing the number of beds and Covid-designated hospitals to deal with the situation. Bangladesh has so far recorded 624,594 coronavirus cases, according to a handout issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). During the 24-hour period until Friday morning, 2,473 patients recovered, taking the number of recoveries to 547,411. Bangladesh reported its first cases on March 8 last year and confirmed the first death from the virus 10 days later. Also read; Global Covid cases top 130 million Meanwhile, the fatalities reached 9,155 Friday, with 50 new deaths. The mortality rate now stands at 1.47 percent. Coronavirus claimed 568 lives in January this year, 281 in February and 638 in March. Govt strengthens protective steps The daily surge prompted the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to issue an 18-point directive on March 29 to prevent the transmission of the virus. Also read; Global Covid-19 death toll hits 2.7 million On the same day, the Health Ministry proposed strict measures like partial lockdowns for some places with higher Covid-19 transmission rates. Other recommendations made by the ministry include closure of amusement centres and picnic spots, ban on religious gatherings, limiting wedding ceremonies, strengthening quarantine systems, limiting passengers in public transport, and limiting attendance in offices. It also suggested strong enforcement of the ‘no mask, no service’ policy, increasing the number of mobile courts and slapping fines on health guideline violators. Authorities in various districts have shut down amusement centres and are urging people to wear masks. But a large number of people are still reluctant to follow Covid protocols, putting themselves as well as others around them at risk.  

Ten people including three women died at Comilla Medical College Hospital with Covid-19-like symptoms in the last 24 hours on Monday.

Five people died at Comilla Medical College Hospital with Covid-19-like symptoms in the last 24 hours.