Bangladesh Covid-19
Akram Khan tests positive for Covid-19
Former Bangladesh captain and current director of Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) Akram Khan has tested positive for Covid-19. He is currently in home isolation.
Sources close to Akram’s family told UNB that the former skipper was suffering from Covid-19 symptoms for the past few days and hence got himself tested.
Akram also told a local media outlet that he decided to undergo the Covid-19 test after experiencing symptoms of coronavirus.
Also read: Mashrafe infected with coronavirus
“I have been suffering from cold and throat pain for the past few days, and hence got myself tested. Currently, I’m in home isolation. Other members of my family will undergo the Covid-19 test on Saturday," he said.
Due to an unprecedented surge in Covid-19 cases in recent weeks, BCB has put on hold the remaining matches of the National Cricket League (NCL).
Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh records 7000+ cases for fifth day
Although the government enforced a 7-day lockdown from Monday, people have been moving around freely, posing risks of more transmission. The government has hinted at imposing a complete lockdown from April 14.
Senior journalist Hassan Shahriar passes away
Hassan Shahriar, a veteran journalist and former Jatiya Press Club (JPC) president, passed away at a city hospital on Saturday. He was 76.
Shahriar, also a two-term international president of Commonwealth Journalists' Association (CJA), breathed his last at Impulse Hospital around 11:45am while undergoing treatment there, JPC joint secretary Mainul Alam told UNB.
He said the senior journalist was admitted to the hospital around 1:30 am on Friday with various symptoms of coronavirus, including fever, cough and breathing problem.
Mainual said Shahriar underwent Covid-19 test a week back but the result came out negative. “Later, he was admitted to the hospital with 80% damaged lungs and serious breathing problems.”
His first namaj-e-janaza was held on the Jatiya Press Club premises after Asr prayers, which was participated by his former colleagues, editors, many senior and junior journalists, friends, family members and well-wishers.
After the janaza, leaders of the JPC, CJA, Bangladesh Federal Union of Journalists (BFUJ), Dhaka Union of Journalists (DUJ) and some other organisations, and media outlets paid homage to the journalists by placing wreaths on his coffin.
Also read: Journalist Kayum Khan Milon passes away
On behalf of the Indian High Commission, its press officer Shantanu Mukherjee paid tributes to Hassan Shahriar by laying a wreath on his coffin.
His second janaza was held in front of his residential apartment at the city’s Topkhana Road after Magrib prayers.
Later, he was buried at the Rayer Bazar Graveyard in the capital.
Born on 25 April, 1946 in Sunamganj, Shahriar joined the Daily Ittefaq in the 60s and later worked for a number of international media outlets.
He retired from the Daily Ittefaq as its Executive Editor in 2008 after serving the newspaper for a long time in different capacities.
Shahriar, a confirmed bachelor, was the first editor of the Daily Sun and Chief Editor of Chittagong-based Daily People's View.
Shahriar also worked as Bangladesh correspondent of international news magazine Newsweek, Khaleej Times, India's Daily Deccan Herald, The Indian Express and The Asian Age, Pakistan's Morning News, Dawn and Evening Star.
Also read: Journalist AZM Anas passes away
He was the first journalist from Asia-Pacific to be elected as President of the Toronto-based Commonwealth Journalists Association (CJA) in 2003. He was also the International President Emeritus of the CJA in 2012.
Journalist Shahriar was awarded the prestigious Harry Brittan Fellowship by the Commonwealth Press Union (CPU) in 1978.
He was elected President of the Jatiya Press Club management committee for the 1993-94 tenure. Shahriar was also the incumbent president of Media Club Limited.
Meanwhile, President Abdul Hamid expressed profound shock and sorrow at the death of Shahriar.
In a condolence message, he recalled the contributions of Shahriar to the field of journalism.
The President prayed for the eternal peace of the departed soul and conveyed deep sympathy to the bereaved family members.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also expressed deep shock and sorrow at his death.
In a condolence message, Sheikh Hasina said the role of Hassan Shahriar in Bangladesh’s journalism will ever be remembered.
Also read: Journalist Shaheen Reza Noor passes away
She prayed for the eternal salvation of the departed soul and expressed sympathy to the bereaved family.
Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen, Information Minister Dr Hasan Mahmud and many other ministers and politicians also condoled the death of Shahriar.
BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir also mourned the death of the noted journalist.
JPC President Farida Yasmin and General Secretary Ilias Khan also expressed deep shock at the death of Shahriar.
In a joint condolence message, they said, “The death of noted journalist Hasan Shahriar has caused an irreparable loss to the journalism profession. He was a guardian in Bangladesh's journalist community.”
The JPC leaders also expressed deep sympathy for the bereaved family members.
Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB) also mourned the death of the veteran journalist.
In a condolence message, DCAB President Pantho Rahaman and its General Secretary AKM Moinuddin conveyed deep sympathy to the bereaved family members and sought eternal peace for the departed soul of the veteran journalist.
DoE's top bureaucrat dies of Covid-19
The Director-General of the Department of Environment (DoE), Dr AKM Rafique Ahammed, died at a hospital in Dhaka early on Saturday morning, days after contracting Covid-19.
Dr Rafique passed away at Central Police Hospital around 4.14 am, said Dipankar Bar, Senior Information Officer of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.
The top environment officer was undergoing treatment at the hospital since March 23 and put on life support after his condition worsened on Friday.
A BCS (administration) cadre of 10th batch who joined government service in 1991, Dr Rafique is survived by his wife and two sons.
Before joining DoE on May 22, 2019, Rafique served as a commercial counsellor at the Consulate of Bangladesh in Dubai.
Also read: Covid-19: Hasina for balancing livelihoods and public health
Environment, Forests and Climate Change Minister Md Shahab Uddin, deputy minister Habibun Nahar, secretary Ziaul Hasan, and employees of the ministry have expressed deep shock at the demise of Dr Rafique.
Covid-19 situation
Bangladesh on Friday recorded more than 7,000 coronavirus cases for the fifth time in six days.
The country has registered 7,462 new cases and 63 Covid-related deaths in 24 hours, the Directorate General of Health Services said on Friday. A day before, the country recorded 74 deaths, its highest.
Bangladesh has so far recorded 673,594 coronavirus cases, according to DGHS.
Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh records 7000+ cases for fifth day
Although the government enforced a 7-day lockdown from Monday, people have been moving around freely, posing risks of more transmission. The government has hinted at imposing a complete lockdown from April 14.
Bangladesh reported its first coronavirus cases on March 8 last year and the first death 10 days later.
Vaccination drive
The government launched a countrywide vaccination campaign on February 7, with doses received from the Serum Institute of India.
Bangladesh on April 8 began its second phase of inoculating people amid uncertainty over the availability of vaccines.
Global Covid-19 cases top 134.5 million
Amid the worrying surge in coronavirus infections, the global Covid caseload topped 134.5 million on Saturday morning.
According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count and fatalities now stand at 134,504,773 and 2,914,122, respectively.
In the US, the total number of Covid-19 cases has now surpassed 31 million. As per the data, the country has so far logged 31,082,421 cases and 561,044 virus deaths.
Brazil on Friday reported another 93,317 infections and 3,693 deaths from Covid-19 in 24 hours, raising the national tallies to 348,718 and 13,373,174, respectively, the Ministry of Health said.
Also read: Covid-19: Hasina for balancing livelihoods and public health
Besides, India’s total cases topped 13,060,542 on Saturday morning. A total of 167,642 people have died so far from the virus in the country.
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh on Friday recorded more than 7,000 coronavirus cases for the fifth time in six days.
The country has registered 7,462 new cases and 63 Covid-related deaths, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said Friday. A day before the country recorded 74 deaths, its highest.
The country has so far recorded 673,594 coronavirus cases, according to DGHS.
Although the government enforced a 7-day lockdown from Monday, people have been moving around freely, posing risks of more transmission. The government has hinted at imposing a complete lockdown from April 14.
Also read: Govt considering complete lockdown from April 14: Quader
Bangladesh reported its first coronavirus cases on March 8 last year and the first death 10 days later.
Vaccination drive
The government launched a countrywide vaccination campaign on February 7 with doses received from the Serum Institute of India.
Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh records 7000+ cases for fifth day
Bangladesh on April 8 began its second phase of inoculating people amid uncertainty over the availability of vaccine.
Bangladesh far away from herd immunity; only massive vaccination can help: Experts
Achieving herd immunity through a massive vaccination drive can be the best option for Bangladesh to get rid of the deadly Coronavirus as all the steps, including the lockdown, have failed to slow down its upsurge in the country, experts said.
Though many people are believed to have developed antibodies through infections, Bangladesh is not on its way to achieving herd immunity as Covid’s new variants like South African one can dodge people’s that type of immune protection, according to the experts.
Read After Coronavirus: Police adopts yoga for enhanced immunity to disease
They think the government should focus mainly on collecting at least 25 crore doses of the vaccine from different sources to attain herd immunity.
They also said though some studies have raised questions about the efficacy of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine against the South African variant, most studies suggest it can at least reduce the mortality and morbidity rates.
Herd immunity is a concept based on the body's immune resistance to the spread of a deadly disease or virus and it can be attained in two ways -- naturally or through infections of the majority population and artificially or through vaccinating at least 70% of the population of a country.
Read Are some Covid-19 vaccines more effective than others?
Far away from herd immunity
Talking to UNB, Prof Muzaherul Huq, a former adviser to WHO South-East Asia region, said Bangladesh is not moving towards attaining herd immunity for the lack of a strong vaccination drive.
“Bangladesh is far away from achieving herd immunity as only around 55 lakh people have so far given the first dose of Covid vaccine. The official figure about the virus cases is only 6,73,594. We don’t know how many people here have the antibody. So, we’ve an option to vaccinate our majority people for attaining herd immunity,” he observed.
Also read: Is Bangladesh ready to distribute a Covid-19 vaccine?
Global Covid cases surpass 109 million
Amid a downward trend in the world's Covid-19 trajectory, new variants have raised worry about corona re-infections despite widespread vaccination.
Global Covid cases surpass 87 million
The number of fresh COVID cases is rising across the world with each passing day -- now surpassing the 87 million mark.
Over 86 million infected with COVID globally
The world continues to grapple with a steady rise in COVID-19 infections, with total cases crossing the 86 million mark on Wednesday.
Covid-19: Global cases exceed 83 million
As the Covid-19 infections spreading fast, its global caseload hit 83.3 million on Friday, according to data released by the Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
Bangladesh Covid-19 updates: 30 more die in 24 hrs
Covid-19 fatalities in Bangladesh rose to 7,428 with 30 more deaths recorded in 24 hours until Saturday morning.