Bangladesh Covid-19
Global Covid caseload nears 174 million
Notwithstanding a drop in the number of fresh cases in several countries, the global Covid-19 caseload is fast approaching the 174-million mark.
The global case count and fatalities stand at 173,887,864 and 3,744,378, respectively, as of Wednesday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
To date, some 2,176, 376,755 people have been jabbed globally, as per JHU data.
The US, which is the world's worst-hit country in terms of both cases and deaths, has so far logged 33,390,694 cases and
598,323 deaths, Johns Hopkins figures reveal.
India's Covid-19 tally rose to 28,996,473 on Tuesday, with 86,498 new cases reported in 24 hours, said the federal Health Ministry. This is the lowest single-day spike in India in more than two months.
Besides, 2,123 deaths were reported during the period, pushing up the death toll to over 350,000, according to the Ministry.
Brazil registered 2,378 more deaths from Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the nationwide tally to 476,792, the health ministry said on Tuesday.
Also read: US to honour Bangladesh's request for AstraZeneca vaccine: FM hopes
A total of 52,911 new infections were detected during the period, raising the national caseload to 17,037,129, the ministry said.
Brazil has the world's second-highest Covid-19 death toll, after the United States, and the third-largest caseload, behind the U.S. and India.
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh on Tuesday registered 44 more coronavirus-related deaths and 2,322 fresh cases in 24 hours, with the Covid situation worsening post the detection of the Delta variant in different parts of the country.
Read: In Khulna, a scramble for Covid hospital beds
Although district administrations have imposed restrictions in most of the frontier districts to bring the situation under control, the infection and death rates are on the rise.
The latest death toll pushed up the fatalities to 12,913. The Covid-19 death toll crossed the 12,000-mark in Bangladesh on May 11.
With the new cases, the total caseload rose to 8,15,282, said the Directorate General of Health Services.
Vaccination drive
Around 5,563 people have received the second dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine in the past 24 hours.
A total number of 42,28,741 people have so far got the second dose of this vaccine, while the number is 58,20,015 for the first dose.
Besides, the total number of people receiving their first jab of Chinese Sinopharm vaccine reached 2,162 during the period.
Bangladesh launched its vaccination drive on February 7 with Oxford-AstraZeneca doses bought from India's Serum Institute.
So far, four vaccines – Oxford-AstraZeneca (Covishield), Sputnik-V, Sinopharm, and Pfizer-BioNTech – have got the approval for emergency use in Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, seven million doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca Covishield vaccine reached Bangladesh, and the governments of India and China gave 3.2 million doses and 500,000 doses of coronavirus vaccine as gifts, respectively.
However, the country, the prime recipient of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, has suspended the registration for Covid-19 jabs due to vaccine shortage amid a delay in the arrival of shipments from India.
US delivers emergency medical supplies
The United States, through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), on Monday night delivered to Bangladesh its latest shipment of emergency medical supplies to save lives, stop the spread of Covid-19, and meet the urgent health needs of the Bangladeshi people.
This latest delivery brings the financial value of US pandemic assistance to Bangladesh to more than $84 million, tweeted US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl R Miller.
The emergency medical supplies include critical personal protective equipment for healthcare professionals and other frontline workers, as well as fingertip pulse oximeters.
Global Covid-19 cases hit 168 million
More than 168 million people have been found infected with the virus as Covid-19 pandemic continues to devastate countries across the world.
The total caseload reached at 168,181,146 as of Thursday morning while the death toll from the virus climbed to 3,494,001, according to the data compiled by Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
So far, 1,737, 293,414 doses of vaccines have been administered across the world.
The US, which remained the world’s worst hit country in both number of cases and deaths, has logged 33,190,016 with 591,947 fatalities.
India has been experiencing a staggering Covid-19 situation as in recent weeks the country has been counting deaths of more than 4,000 people a day.
Also read: US civil rights leader urges Biden To give 60 million Covid-19 vaccine doses to India
Amid worries over the reports of black fungus in India, the country has recorded 27, 157, 795 cases while the death toll from the virus mounted to 311,388 till date.
Brazil on Wednesday reported 2,398 more deaths from COVID-19, raising the national count to 454,429, the Ministry of Health said.
A total of 80,486 more infections were detected, raising the nationwide tally to 16,274,695, the ministry said.
Brazil has the world's second highest COVID-19 death toll, after the United States, and the third largest caseload, following the United States and India.
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh logged 17 more Covid-related deaths in 24 hours until Wednesday morning, the lowest number in 68 days.
The country saw 16 Covid-19 deaths on March 18 last.
Besides, 1,497 new cases were recorded taking the total caseload to 7,93,693, said a handout of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Also read: India to begin clinical trials for Covd-19 vaccine in children
Health authorities recorded the new cases after testing 16,434 samples in the last 24 hours.
Vaccination drive
Bangladesh launched its vaccination drive on February 7 with Oxford-AstraZeneca doses purchased from India's Serum Institute.
The administration of the first dose remained suspended since April 26.
Also, the country, the prime recipient of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccines, has suspended the registration for Covid-19 jabs due to short supply of doses amid a delay in timely arrival of shipments from India.
However, the administering of the 1st dose of Chinese Sinopharm vaccine against Covid-19 began on Tuesday.
Global Covid deaths near 3.4 million
The global death toll from Covid-19 is approaching 3.4 million, as the race for mass inoculations continues.
More than 3,399,194 people have died so far from the virus, while 163,952,478 cases have been reported worldwide, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Some 1,507,598,872 vaccine doses have been administered till Wednesday morning, according to the university.
The US has recorded 587,198 deaths since the pandemic began. Over 32,996,675 people have been found infected with the virus, if Johns Hopkins figures are to be believed.
India’s total virus cases since the pandemic began swept past 25 million on Tuesday. To be specific, the country’s total caseload currently stand at 25, 228,996, as per the data released by the government.
Also read; Global Covid-19 death toll hits 2.7 million
The numbers continue a trend of falling cases after infections dipped below 300,000 for the first time in weeks on Monday. Active cases in the country also decreased by more than 165,000 on Tuesday — the biggest dip in weeks, reports AP.
But deaths have continued to rise and hospitals are still swamped with patients. India has registered 278,719 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
Brazil on Tuesday reported 2,513 more deaths from Covid-19, raising the national count to 439,050, the Ministry of Health said.
The ministry said that 75,445 more infections were detected, raising the nationwide tally to 15,732,836.
According to the ministry, Brazil now has a death rate of 208.9 per 100,000 inhabitants.
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh on Tuesday registered 30 more coronavirus-related deaths in 24 hours, pushing up the total fatalities to 12,211.
Besides, 1,272 new cases were detected during the period after testing 16,855 samples, the Directorate General of Health Services said in a handout.
Read: Vaccine production in Bangladesh: Experts 'vehemently against private sector’s engagement'
The daily infection rate rose to 7.55 percent on Tuesday from Monday’s 6.75 percent.
With the new cases, the total caseload reached 7,28,129 while the total number of recoveries stood at 7,24,209, including 1,115 in the past 24 hours.
Vaccination drive
Bangladesh launched its vaccination drive on February 7 with Oxford-AstraZeneca doses purchased from India's Serum Institute.
The government signed an agreement with Serum for 30 million doses. But a record number of cases in India has now made the delivery of the doses uncertain.
In fact, the country, the prime recipient of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, has suspended the registration for Covid-19 jabs due to vaccine shortage amid a delay in the timely arrival of shipments from India.
In the past 24 hours, no one has received the first dose of the vaccine, while 64,377 have received the second dose, said the health directorate.
Vaccine production in Bangladesh: Experts 'vehemently against private sector’s engagement'
Though local pharmaceutical companies are showing a growing interest in either procuring or manufacturing Covid vaccines, local health experts say it is the government, not the private sector that should collect or produce jabs for ensuring their quality, affordability, and accessibility.
They also voiced doubt about the capabilities of the three companies that proposed the government to manufacture Russia's Sputnik V vaccine in Bangladesh.
The analysts suggested the government assess whether the Institute of Public Health (IPH) or state-owned Essential Drugs Company Limited (EDCL) can be modernised within a short period of time to manufacture Covid vaccines.
Read Bangladesh to get 106,000 doses of Pfizer vaccine on June 2: Health Ministry
Private initiatives
Robed Amin, the spokesman of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), said three local companies -- Incepta, Unihealth and Popular pharmaceuticals -- have shown their interest in manufacturing Russia's Sputnik V vaccine.
He said the companies gave their proposals to the government for producing the same vaccine and their capabilities will be scrutinised.
Besides, the DGHS official said Renata Limited, another Bangladeshi pharmaceutical company, has sought permission from the government to import Moderna's Covid-19 vaccine and discussions are going on in this regard.
Robed said the government is also assessing the prospect of manufacturing any vaccine here either by private companies or any public institution.
Read: Will do our best to support vaccine rollout in neighbouring countries: India
Are they capable of manufacturing?
Though the three companies are talking about manufacturing vaccines, Dr Be-Nazir Ahmed, former director (Disease Control), DGHS, said he has a doubt about their capacity to do so.
He said these companies can import vaccines in bulk from Russia or China for marketing it after bottling or packaging here. “But it’ll take a plenty of time to meet the demand through importing vaccines in bulk. The government should seriously evaluate the capacities of the companies applied for permission to produce vaccines.”
Dr Be-Nazir said Incepta is currently importing tetanus vaccine in bulk from abroad and marketing it through bottling here.
Read: Covid vaccines should be declared as global public goods: PM Hasina
Prof Muzaherul Huq, a former adviser to WHO South-East Asia region, also thinks these companies are not well-equipped to manufacture the vaccine.
“Bangladeshi companies surely produce very quality medicine. But they don’t have adequate preparations and facilities to produce the Covid vaccine. As some companies are showing their interest in manufacturing it, their capacity should be properly examined.”
Global Covid-19 cases approaches 152 million
The confirmed case of coronavirus is approaching 152 million across the globe with 3.18 million fatalities on Sunday, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
The total case count reached 151,774,770 while the death toll from the virus climbed to 3,188, 331 as of Sunday morning.
The US which remains the world’s worst hit country in number of cases and deaths has recorded 32,389,652 cases and 576,719 deaths respectively.
Brazil’s national death toll climbed to 406,437 and its nationwide tally reached 14,725,975 as of Sunday morning, according to data compiled by JHU.
April has been the month with the most deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic in the Latin American nation.
Since the beginning of this year, Brazil has been facing a new wave of the virus, which has resulted in the collapse of a large part of its healthcare system.
Amid the monstrous spike in COVID-19 infections, India has logged 19,164, 969 cases with 211,853 fatalities.
The authorities concerned in India opened vaccinations to all adults Saturday, launching a huge inoculation effort that was sure to tax the limits of the federal government, the country’s vaccine factories and the patience of its 1.4 billion people.
Also read: India cases set new global record; millions vote in 1 state
The country’s ambitious effort was also partly overshadowed Saturday by a fire in a COVID-19 ward in western India that killed 18 patients, and the death of 12 COVID-19 patients at a hospital in New Delhi after the facility ran out of oxygen for 80 minutes, reports AP.
Situation in Bangladesh
The death toll from Covid-19 hit 11,510 in Bangladesh on Saturday as the country logged 60 more fatalities in 24 hours until Saturday morning.
However, the country reported new cases of 1,452 during the 24-hour period ending at 8am, which was said to the lowest daily count in 48 days.
The overall infection tally reached 760,584 with the new cases and the positivity rate fell to 9.61% from Friday's 10.34%. But the death rate remained unchanged at 1.51%, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
On March 14, Bangladesh reported 1,159 cases in 24 hours. The country's infection rate came down below 10% on Thursday after over a month, as it reported a 7.68% infection rate on March 17 and it rose to 10.45% the following day. Since then, the infection rate began an upward march.
According to the DGHS, 684,671 infected people have recovered from the disease so far and 3,245 of them in the past 24 hours.
Also read: Covid claims 88 more lives in Bangladesh, infection rate falls below 10 pc
Bangladesh has so far carried out 548,4821 nationwide tests since reporting its first coronavirus cases on March 8 last year the first death on the 18th of that month.
The country recorded 52 coronavirus-related deaths on April 5, 78 on April 27, and 77 on April 28, showing a downtrend. It witnessed over 100 deaths during April 16-19 and on April 25.
Global Covid-19 cases top 149 million
With new variants of Covid-19 spreading faster than ever before in several parts of the world, the global corona cases have now topped 149 million.
According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total global case count reached 149,206,501 while the death toll climbed to 3,146,284 on Thursday morning.
The US, the world's worst-hit country in terms of cases and deaths, have recorded 32,229,317 cases with 574,326 fatalities to date, as per the JHU data.
Neighbouring India’s total Covid case count is fast approaching the 18-million mark. The country’s caseload and fatalities stand at 17, 997,267 and 201,187, respectively, as of Thursday morning.
India had thought the worst was over when cases ebbed in September. But infections began increasing in February, and on Wednesday, 362,757 new confirmed cases, a global record, pushed the country’s total past 17.9 million, second only to the U.S.
Local media have reported discrepancies between official state tallies of the dead and actual numbers of bodies in crematoriums and burial grounds. Many crematoriums have spilled over into parking lots and other empty spaces as blazing funeral pyres light up the night sky, reports AP.
Brazil on Wednesday registered 3,163 more deaths from Covid-19 in the past 24 hours, raising the national count to 398,185, the world's second-highest corona death toll after the US, the Ministry of Health said.
Also Read: Global Covid-19 cases top 142 million
The ministry said that tests detected 79,726 new Covid-19 cases, taking its nationwide tally to 14,521,289.
April has been the month with the most deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic in the Latin American nation, with about 70,000 fatalities having been reported to date, compared with 66,000 deaths for March.
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh on Wednesday reported 77 more coronavirus-related deaths and 2,955 new cases as the country grapples with the second wave of the virus.
The daily infection rate dropped to 10.48 percent from Tuesday’s 12.51 percent but the mortality rate rose to 1.50 percent.
As of Wednesday, 754,614 cases and 11,305 deaths have been recorded, the Directorate General of Health Services said in a handout.
Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh sees 77 deaths, new cases 2,955
The number of recoveries now stand at 672,319, according to the directorate.
Bangladesh reported its first coronavirus cases on March 8 last year and the first death on the 18th of that month.
Lockdown extended
The surge in Covid infections prompted the government to go for a lockdown from early April. Having failed to achieve the intended result, it imposed a complete 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, shopping malls will remain open from 10am to 8pm during the extended period, he said.
Vaccination
Bangladesh launched a vaccination drive on February 7 with Oxford-AstraZeneca doses it acquired from the Serum Institute of India.
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.
However,BDGHS chief Prof ABM Khurshid Alam has assured citizens that Bangladesh will get 2.1 million doses of the vaccine by the first week of May.
Global Covid-19 cases top 146 million
More than 146 people have been found infected with Covid-19 globally with 3.09 million fatalities on Sunday, according to the Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
The total case count reached at 146, 091,986 while the death toll from the virus climbed to 3,096, 579 as of Sunday.
The US has now surpassed 32 million confirmed cases of Covid-19, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University.
Coronavirus cases nationwide reached 32,044,976 on Sunday. Covid-19 related deaths now total more than 571,922.
Brazil registered 3,076 more Covid-19-related deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing its death toll to 389,492, the country's Ministry of Health reported on Saturday.
According to the ministry, another 71,137 new cases were registered, bringing the country's caseload to 14,308,215.
Brazil is currently ranked second in the world in the number of deaths from Covid-19, surpassed only by the United States, and third in the world in the number of cases, behind the United States and India.
Also read: Covid situation in Bangladesh unlikely to improve before June: Experts
India has logged 16,610,481 cases while the death toll from the virus mounted to 189, 544.
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh recorded 83 more Covid-related deaths in 24 hours until Saturday morning, raising the total fatalities to 10,952.
Bangladesh’s coronavirus fatalities crossed 10,000 on April 15 and the death tally reached near 11,000 within 10 days as the country finds it hard to deal with the pandemic.
With the latest figure, the mortality rate rose to 1.48 percent from Friday’s 1.47 percent, the Directorate General of Health Services said in a handout.
Also read: India records world's highest single-day spike in Covid cases
Besides, 2,697 new cases were detected during the period after examining 20,571 samples.
Bangladesh reported its first coronavirus cases on March 8 last year and the first death on the 18th of that month.
With the news cases, the total caseload reached 742,400 while the total number of recoveries is 653,151, including 5477 in the last 24 hours.
The surge in Covid infections prompted the government to go for a lockdown from early April but it turned out to be lax and loose. From April 11, the government imposed a ‘stricter lockdown’ and later extended it up to April 28.
On Friday, the government allowed shopping malls to reopen from April 25.
Vaccination campaign
Launched on February 7, a vaccination drive is underway across Bangladesh with the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine.
Bangladesh signed an agreement with the Serum Institute of India Pvt Ltd for 30 million doses of the vaccine. But a record number of cases in India has made the delivery of the vaccine doses uncertain.
On Thursday, Foreign Minister AK Momen assured people that there will be adequate doses of the vaccine.
So far, 5,778,686 people have received the first dose and 1,967,975 have got their second jab, according to official figures.
Global Covid death toll nears 3 million
With the Covid-19 situation worsening around the world by the day, the global death toll from the virus topped 2.99 million on Saturday.
According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count and fatalities now stand at 139,670,541 and 2,997,062, respectively.
The US remains the world's worst-hit country, with 31,575,138 cases and 566,212 deaths, as per the university data.
The US is averaging nearly 70,000 new daily coronavirus cases, up from about 53,000 just four weeks ago, CDC Director Dr Rochelle Walensky was quoted by AP as saying.
Hospitalisations have been trending higher, and deaths were up for the third day in a row. Along with relaxed restrictions on gatherings and indoor dining, the emergence of variants that spread more easily is part of the reason for the worsening trend.
Amid the devastating Covid-19 situation in India, the country’s total caseload has now surpassed 14,291,917. The death toll from the virus has topped 174,308, according to official figures released Friday.
According to the university data, India is counted as the second-worst country in terms of cases after the US and fourth in terms of deaths after the US, Brazil and Mexico.
Brazil has been experiencing a new wave of cases since January and it has the world's second-largest pandemic death toll after the US.
Also read: Covid-19: Hasina for balancing livelihoods and public health
The country’s total case tally crossed 13,832,455 while the death toll climbed to 368,749 on Saturday morning, as per the official figures.
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh broke its previous records of single-day death count, with 101 fatalities in 24 hours till Friday morning, although the number of new cases remained below the 5,000 mark.
The death toll now stands at 10,182, with a mortality rate of 1.43 percent, the Directorate General of Health Services said in a handout.
With 4,417 new cases, the daily infection rate has climbed to 23.36 percent.
Bangladesh reported its first coronavirus cases on March 8 last year and the first death on the 18th of that month.
So far, 711,779 cases have been confirmed, with 602,908 recoveries (84.7 percent of all patients), according to the directorate.
Also read: Govt considering complete lockdown from April 14: Quader
Covid-19 Vaccine
The government launched a vaccination campaign on February 7, with doses received from the Serum Institute of India.
Experts are calling for ramping up the drive and urging people to follow the health guidelines to keep themselves and others around them safe.
On April 8, Bangladesh began its second phase of the countrywide inoculation drive amid uncertainty over vaccine availability.
Bangladesh inks over $1 b deal with World Bank for responding to COVID-19 pandemic
The government of Bangladesh signed three financing agreements totaling $1.04 billion with the World Bank to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and to build resilience to future crises including vaccination against COVID-19.
The agreements were signed by Economic Relations Division secretary Fatima Yasmin and World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan Mercy Tembon on behalf of the Government and the World Bank, respectively.
The credits are from the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), and have a 30-year term, including a five-year grace period.
The $500 million additional financing to the COVID-19 Emergency Response and Pandemic Preparedness Project will help Bangladesh vaccinate about 54 million people against COVID-19, according to a WB press release issued on Wednesday.
Also read: Govt inks $100 mn grant deal with WB to support Rohingys, host communities
It said that it will help the government procure vaccines; expand storage facilities; and distribute and deploy the vaccines.
The project will also continue to provide support to strengthen the national health systems to detect, prevent, and treat COVID-19 cases as well for preparedness for future health emergencies.
The $500 million Private Investment and Digital Entrepreneurship (PRIDE) Project will promote and attract about $2 billion direct private investments and strengthen social and environmental standards in selected public and private economic zones and software technology parks.
It will develop the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Shilpa Nagar II in Mirsarai-Feni and establish Dhaka’s first digital entrepreneurship hub in the Janata Software Technology Park and turn it into a green building.
Also read: WB, Bangladesh sign $200m deal for improved sanitation, water access
By creating more jobs and attracting domestic and foreign private investment, including in the IT and ITES sectors, the project will help the economy to rebound from the impact of COVID-19.
The $40 million Additional Financing to the Digitizing Implementation Monitoring and Public Procurement Project (DIMAPP) will help Bangladesh expand electronic government procurement (e-GP) to all public procurement entities with new features to respond to the COVID-19 challenges.
Last year, during the general holiday for the COVID-19 pandemic, e-GP played a critical role in continuing development works throughout the country.
To respond to the challenges of COVID-19 pandemic and any other future emergencies, the financing will help add features to the e-GP system, including international bidding, direct contracting, framework agreement, electronic contract management and payment, procurement data analytics, geo-tagging, and others.
“The COVID-19 pandemic continues to be an enormous challenge around the world. So far, Bangladesh has tackled the challenges well through fiscal stimulus and social protection programs. However economic recovery would depend on vaccination for those who need it most, and actions to increase efficiency and boost productivity,” said Mercy Tembon, World Bank Country Director for Bangladesh and Bhutan.
These projects, he said, will help vaccinate about one-third of the population, attract direct private investment in specialized economic zones and expand as well as upgrade the electronic government procurement system.
ERD secretary Fatima Yasmin said that these financings will help Bangladesh provide vaccination to mass people and thus help the economy to turn around and remain resilient.
Bangladesh currently has the largest ongoing IDA program totaling over $14 billion.
The World Bank was among the first development partners to support Bangladesh and has committed more than $35 billion in grants, interest-free, and concessional credits to the country since its Independence.
Global Covid-19 cases exceed 135 million with 2.9 million fatalities
Over 135 million people have been infected with Covid-19 globally with the reports of 2.9 million deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
The total case count reached 135,200,019 as of Sunday while the death toll mounted to 2,926,949.
The US has logged 31,49,565 cases and the death toll from the virus climbed to 561,780 as of Sunday morning.
Brazil's COVID-19 death toll has risen to 351,334 after 2,616 new deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, the Ministry of Health reported on Saturday.
Meanwhile, the country registered 71,832 new cases, bringing the national tally to 13,445,006, the ministry said.
India has registered 13,205,926 cases and over 168,436 people have died so far from the virus in the country.
Also read: Are some Covid-19 vaccines more effective than others?
Vaccine shortage hits poor countries
As many as 60 countries, including some of the world’s poorest, might be stalled at the first shots of their coronavirus vaccinations because nearly all deliveries through the global programme intended to help them are blocked until as late as June, reports AP.
COVAX – the global initiative to provide vaccines to countries lacking the clout to negotiate for scarce supplies on their own – has in the past week shipped more than 25,000 doses to low-income countries only twice on any given day. Deliveries have all but halted since Monday.
During the past two weeks, according to data compiled daily by UNICEF, fewer than two million COVAX doses in total were cleared for shipment to 92 countries in the developing world — the same amount injected in Britain alone.
On Friday, the head of the World Health Organization slammed the “shocking imbalance” in global COVID-19 vaccination.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus said while one in four people in rich countries had received a vaccine, only one in 500 people in poorer countries had gotten a dose.
Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh sees highest daily death toll of 74
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh recorded 77 more deaths during the last 24 hours till Saturday morning, the highest one-day total since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country.
The number of new Coronavirus cases dropped slightly to 5,343 after registering over 7,000 cases for the fifth day in the last six days until Friday, said a handout issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
With the new 77 deaths, the Covid-19 fatalities rose to 9,661 while the mortality rate remained static at 1.42 percent for two consecutive days.
Meanwhile, the government enforced a 7-day lockdown from April 5 to bring the situation under control keeping garment factories and offices open on condition of maintaining health protocols. Later, it allowed public transports movement in city corporation areas and reopened shops and shopping malls within a few days.
Bangladesh reported its first cases on March 8 last year and confirmed the first death from the virus 10 days later.
Vaccination drive
The vaccination campaign, launched on February 7 with doses received from the Serum Institute of India, continues across the country with experts calling for intensifying it further.
On Thursday, Bangladesh began its second phase of inoculating people against the coronavirus disease amid uncertainty around vaccine availability.
Fresh lockdown set to go
As the spread of Coronavirus has sparked alarm across the country, the government is set to issue a notification on Sunday over enforcing a fresh nationwide lockdown from April 14 in its desperate bid to stop the spread of the deadly virus.
A fresh lockdown is coming with tougher measures as the virus keeps spreading fast in the country, State Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain said while talking to UNB about the lockdown notification.