Bangladesh reported one more COVID-19-linked death and 30 fresh cases in 24 hours till Monday (January 22, 2024) morning. With the new numbers, the country's total fatalities rose to 29,481 and caseload to 2,046,788, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). The daily case test positivity rate stood at 5.14 per cent as 584 samples were tested, said the DGHS. Read more: COVID-19: New variant 'JN.1' detected in Bangladesh The recovery and death rates remained unchanged at 98.41 per cent and 1.44 per cent, respectively. Earlier on Thursday, Professor Tahmina Shireen, director of the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), said they found a new variant of the coronavirus, 'JN.1' in test samples of five patients. Read more: Bangladesh among 5 countries selected for project to strengthen preparedness to COVID-19, other infectious diseases

Bangladesh registered another Covid-linked death and 26 more Covid cases in 24 hours till Monday morning. With the new numbers, the total number of fatalities rose to 29,431 while the caseload rose to 2,036,393, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). The daily case test positivity rate rose to 0.66 per cent from Sunday’s 0.64 per cent as 3,943 samples were tested during the period. Read: COVID-19: US vaccine donations to Bangladesh exceed 100 million The deceased was a man from the Sylhet division which took the death toll in the division to 1,356. The mortality and recovery rates remained unchanged at 1.45 percent and 97.47 per cent, respectively. In October, the country reported 60 Covid-linked deaths and 10,043 cases. Bangladesh registered its highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year and daily fatalities of 264 on August 10 the same year.

The true number of deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States is probably being undercounted -- many deaths are not counted because they happen months after infection, according to an insurance company CEO. "The deaths that are being reported as covid deaths greatly understate the actual death losses among working-age people from the pandemic," The Guardian quoted Scott Davison, CEO of OneAmerica, as saying. Deaths from COVID-19 aftermath have been difficult to track, since the virus may no longer be present at the time of death but had weakened organs or created fatal new ailments, the newspaper said. Read: Global Covid cases top 310 million Meanwhile, an expert predicted that some 5 million Americans could skip work this week with COVID-19, putting strain on business and transport, British newspaper Daily Mail has reported. Most experts believed the infections will continue to increase in the United States for the next few weeks before the Omicron surge peaks in late January, with Dr. Anthony Fauci saying that the country will likely record more than 1 million cases daily on a regular basis.

Professor Khandaker Mustahidur Rahman, a former vice-chancellor of Jahangirnagar University (JU) and a renowned economist who died of Covid-19, was laid to rest on Saturday. He was buried at Banani Graveyard around 2pm after his second namaz-e-janaza on JU campus, said his daughter Tasmina Rahman, a Pharmacy department Professor of the same university. The ex-JU VC’s first namaz-e-janaza was held on the premises of Aminbag Jam-e-Mosque in the city’s Shantinagar area after Esha prayers on Friday. Read JU treasurer to serve as next Pro-VC Mustahidur breathed his last around 3:30pm while undergoing treatment at Islami Bank General Hospital in the capital on Friday. He left behind his wife, a son, two daughters and a host of relatives to mourn his death. The ex-JU VC was admitted to the hospital on August 4 as he tested positive for the coronavirus. Read Prof Imdadul made new VC of JnU Prof Mustahidur Rahman joined JU as a lecturer at the Economics department in 1971. He worked as the VC of the same university from 2004 to 2008. He was a member of pro-BNP professionals body Sammilita Peshajibi Parishad. Meanwhile, BNP secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir expressed deep shock at the death of Prof Mustahidur. Read  The contenders to be the next VC of Rajshahi University In a condolence message, he prayed for the salvation of the departed soul and conveyed his sympathy to the bereaved family members. JU Vice-Chancellor Prof Farzana Islam also condoled his death and prayed for the eternal peace of his departed soul. Read Dr Mashiur appointed National University VC

Additional regional election officer of Mymensingh ABM Saifuzzaman died of Covid-19 on Tuesday. He was 45. “He breathed his last at 11:20am at Mymensingh Medical College Hospital,” Mymensingh regional election officer (REO) Md Shahedunnabi Chowdhury told UNB. Read: Bangladesh’s Covid nightmare: 235 more die, 15,776 infected Saifuzzaman was admitted to the hospital on Thursday last as he tested positive for Covid-19. He left behind wife and two daughters to mourn his death. He will be buried at his village in Atpara Upazila of Netrakona district. With Saifuzzaman, eight EC staff died of Covid-19 and some 200 staff got infected with the virus. Read: Chattogram EC official dies of Covid-19 Of them, four EC staff died in July. Sylhet REO Md Israil Hossain died on  July 25 while Rajnagar Upazila election officer in Moulvibazar Alif Laila on July 7 last.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wednesday donated Tk25 lakh as financial assistance to the family of a deputy secretary who died from Covid-19 recently. PMO Secretary Md Tofazzel Hossain Miah handed over two separate family savings certificates to Fatema Naharin Nira, wife of late deputy secretary Abul Khair Md Maruf Hasan, on behalf of the prime minister. Nira received one certificate – equivalent to Tk20 lakh – in her name and another of Tk5 lakh in the name of Maruf Hasan's mother Mahfuza Akter Banu. Maruf, who was deputy secretary at the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, breathed his last on April 15 at the age of 48. He left behind his wife, two children and elderly mother.

Bangladesh on Friday reported its single-day Covid-19 death toll of 57, the lowest in 25 days, even though the virus surge still remained at the disturbing level. The new figure that came in the last 24 hours until Friday morning brought the country's total fatalities to 11,450 while health authorities reported 2,177 new cases during the period. The infection rate rose to 10.34% from Thursday's 9.39% while the death rate remained static at 1.51%, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).  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. 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. With the latest figure, 7,59,132 cases have been detected so far in Bangladesh. The number of recoveries now stands at 681,426, meaning 89.76% of the patients have recovered till now, the DGHS said. Bangladesh has so far tested 5,469,704 samples, including 21,046 in the past 24 hours. The country reported its first coronavirus cases on March 8 last year and the first death on the 18th of that month. April, the fatal month In the last 30 days, 23,889 cases of infections and more than 2,404 deaths were officially registered, making April the most fatal month since the outbreak began last year. The virus claimed 568 lives in January this year, 281 in February and 638 in March.  Dhaka division remains the worst-hit region, registering most of the deaths – 6,686 or 58.39%.  Twenty-eight of the 57 deaths reported today are from Dhaka division and 13 from Chattogram division. Lockdown extended till May 5 To break the Covid chain, the government enforced a nationwide lockdown in early April. Having failed to achieve the intended results, it imposed a strict lockdown on April 11 and then extended it up to April 28.  On Wednesday, the government issued a circular extending the lockdown up to May 5, as there is no improvement in the Covid-19 situation. However, shops and shopping malls will remain open from 10am to 8pm during the period, the announcement said.  Vaccination Bangladesh launched its vaccination drive on February 7 with Oxford-AstraZeneca doses it purchased from India's Serum Institute.  The country 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. The administering of the first dose remained suspended since Monday. DGHS DG Prof ABM Khurshid Alam assured that Bangladesh will get 2.1 million doses of vaccine by the first week of May. Vaccine production in Bangladesh The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs on Wednesday approved in principle a proposal for producing Russian and Chinese Covid-19 vaccines in Bangladesh. The government on Thursday approved the emergency use of Sinopharm, a Chinese Covid-19 vaccine. It approved the emergency use of the Sputnik V Vaccine of Russia a day earlier. "We'll get 5 lakh doses of the Chinese vaccine as a gift within 7-10 days. Then we'll start distribution. Then the government will start buying those on a G2G basis," Mahbubur Rahman, Director General of DGDA told reporters on Thursday. Incepta Pharmaceuticals, Popular Pharma and HealthCare Pharma have the capacity of producing vaccines, and the Chinese vaccine could be produced locally, Mahbubur said. On Thursday, Dr Shahida Aktar, additional secretary of the Cabinet Division noted that the government will purchase vaccine technology from Russian and China through the direct procurement method (DPM) India's Covid crisis The explosion of new Covid-19 cases is overwhelming Bangladesh's largest neighbour India, leaving millions of people infected and putting stress on the country's already overtaxed health care system. With 386,452 new cases, India confirmed more than 18.7 million on Friday since the pandemic began, the second only to the US.  Its health ministry also reported 3,498 deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 208,330. Experts said the actual figures were likely much higher but it is unclear by how much. Months ago, India had appeared to be winning its battle against the pandemic. After a strict initial lockdown, the country did not see a surge in new cases and deaths compared to other countries. But when the early restrictions were lifted, many people stopped taking precautions with large gatherings, political rallies and religious festivals being held at many places, drawing millions of people. Bangladesh-India border sealed On April 26, Bangladesh closed its border with India for any kind of movement except that of cargoes for the next 14 days as the coronavirus situation in the neighbouring country had gone out of control.

Bangladesh reported 78 more coronavirus-related deaths and 3,031 new cases on Tuesday morning, showing a downtrend. The country witnessed over 100 deaths from April 16 to 19 and April 25 as the second wave of the virus hit Bangladesh. The daily infection rate slipped to 12:51 percent from Monday’s 12.82 percent while the mortality rate remained static at 1.49 percent. So far, 751,659 cases and 11,228 deaths have been confirmed, the Directorate General of Health Services said in a handout. The number of recoveries now stands at 666,927 including 5,234 new cases which indicates 88.73 percent of the patients have recovered. Also read: FM to join China-led virtual meeting on vaccine cooperation  The new cases were confirmed after testing 24,237 samples in the last 24 hours until morning. Bangladesh has so far tested 5,395,524 samples. Bangladesh reported its first coronavirus cases on March 8 last year and the first death on the 18th of that month. Deaths, cases soar in April In the last 27 days, the country witnessed 2,182 fatalities and 136,882 new cases, making it the most fatal month since the outbreak began last year. The virus claimed 568 lives in January this year, 281 in February and 638 in March. Registering most of the deaths – 6,564 or 58.46 percent, Dhaka division remains the worst-hit region. Of the latest fatalities, 50 were reported from Dhaka division and 10 from Chattogram division. Six each died in Khulna, Rajshahi, three in Sylhet, one in Barishal, and two in Mymensingh divisions. Lockdown extended A rapid increase in Covid infections prompted the government to enforce a lockdown from early April which failed to achieve the intended result.  

BNP Chairperson’s advisory council member and ex-MP Barrister Zaiur Rahman Khan died of coronavirus on Saturday night. He was 75. Khan, also a senior lawyer of the Supreme Court, breathed his last around 10 pm at Impulse Hospital in the capital, said BNP assistant organising secretary Abdus Salam Azad. He left behind wife, one daughter, one son and a host of relatives and well-wishers to mourn his death. Also read: Legendary Bengali poet Sankha Ghosh dies of Covid Khan was elected MP from Dhaka-20 four times with BNP’s ticket. His father Ataur Rahman Khan was the Chief Minister of East Pakistan from September 1956 to 1958 until the promulgation of martial law. Also read: Ekushey Padak winning actor SM Mohsin dies of Covid-19 Ataur Rahman Khan was also the Prime Minister of Bangladesh from March 30, 1984 to January 1, 1985 during the rule of HM Ershad. Meanwhile, BNP Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir expressed deep shock at his death.

Bangladesh-born legendary Indian poet Sankha Ghosh, widely known by his pen name Kuntak, died at home in the eastern city of Kolkata on Wednesday (April 21, 2021) morning. He was 89. Ghosh passed away around 11.30 am on Wednesday, barely a week after contracting coronavirus, his family said. The poet was in home isolation since April 14 when he tested positive for Covid-19. He was put on life support on Monday (April 19, 2021)  after his condition worsened. In fact, the eminent poet had been suffering from age-related ailments for a while. In January this year, he was briefly hospitalised. Read Kabori: The doyen of Bangladeshi cinema departs Born at Chandpur in present-day Bangladesh and brought up in West Bengal, Ghosh belonged to the era of Bengali poets after Jibanananda Das. Dinaguli Rataguli and Nihita Patalachaya are some of his celebrated works that have been translated into English. He is also the recipient of several coveted awards -- Jnanpith and Sahitya Akademi awards to name a few. In 2011, Ghosh was conferred with the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award in India. The prolific poet, who studied in Kolkata's prestigious Presidency College and completed his master's degree in Bengali from Calcutta University in 1954, also taught at many varsities, including Calcutta University, Jadavpur University, Delhi University and Visva Bharati. Also read: India records fresh high of nearly 300,000 new COVID-19 cases, over 2,000 more deaths India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party's president JP Nadda took to social media to pay his tribute to the poet.  "I am deeply saddened by the death of renowned Bengali poet Sankha Ghosh, who was honoured with Padma Bhushan, Sahitya Akademi Award, Rabindra Award, Saraswati Award and Jnanpith Award. May his soul rest in peace," he tweeted. Last year, Bengal lost another legend to Covid. Celebrated actor Soumitra Chatterjee, the favourite of India's Oscar-winning filmmaker Satyajit Ray, passed away at a hospital in Kolkata on November 15. Also read: India's capital to lock down as nation's virus cases top 15M Last week, India became the second worst-affected country in the world in terms of Covid cases. On Tuesday, India reported as many as 259,170 new cases and 1,761 fatalities in 24 hours, the highest daily death toll since the pandemic broke out in 2020. India's Covid tally and death toll currently stand at 1,53,21,089 and 1,80,530, respectively, according to the country's Health Ministry. Read Dhallywood superstar Alamgir hospitalised with Coronavirus