Bangladesh reported 96 deaths during a 24-hour period until Wednesday morning, shattering all of its previous single-day death counts. The latest fatalities pushed up the local tally to 9,987 since the first death was reported on March 18 last year, a handout from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said. The mortality rate stood at 1.42 percent. However, the number of daily cases fell to 5,185 from Tuesday’s 6,028. Bangladesh reported its first coronavirus cases on March 8. Since then, 703,170 cases have been confirmed. The country has conducted 5,095,613 covid tests, including 24,825 new ones, since the beginning of the outbreak. Also read: Fresh lockdown in Bangladesh: Experts skeptical about having any great result The daily infection rate stood at 20.89 percent. So far, the health authorities reported 591,299 recoveries (84.09 percent), including 5,333 in the last 24 hours. Daily cases fall, body count rises Bangladesh saw a spike in the number of daily cases in recent days that was followed by record single-day death counts. On Wednesday, the country registered its highest number of deaths from the virus for the fourth time in five days. The figure was 69 on Tuesday, 83 on Monday, 78 on Sunday and 77 on Saturday. Coronavirus claimed 568 lives in January this year, 281 in February and 638 in March. Hospitals overflowing The steady rise in new cases put severe pressure on the health system which is struggling to accommodate so many patients. Of the 96 deaths reported, 94 had died at hospitals and two at home. Hospitals treating Covid-19 patients in Dhaka and elsewhere are running out of general and ICU beds. Hospitals in Dhaka metropolitan area have 4,286 general beds and 59 ICU beds. Of them, only 526 general and 12 ICU beds are available, according to DGHS data. Also read: Bangladesh put under complete lockdown amid Covid spike Overall, there are 10,614 general beds for treating coronavirus patients in the country and more than half of them (5,688) are occupied. There are 792 ICU beds in total but only 137 are available at the moment. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, in her new year address, said the ICU facilities are being increased and the areas of coronavirus patient treatment are being expanded. She said steps have been taken for uninterrupted oxygen supply in public specialised hospitals. Emphasis on health guidelines People’s apathy towards health rules has been blamed as one of the main reasons for the sudden rise in coronavirus cases. The infection rate had fallen below 5 percent earlier this year. Repeated requests of the health experts and the government fell on deaf ears. The people carried on as usual, hardly sticking to basic health rules as they continued to throng shopping malls, places of entertainment and other public gatherings. Sheikh Hasina urged everyone to be careful and ensure protection for themselves, their family members and neighbours. “Gatherings have to be avoided and everyone should wear a mask when going outside,” she said. “If everyone follows health guidelines, it’ll be possible to keep the pandemic under control, Inshallah.”

The number of Covid-19 deaths in Bangladesh fell slightly in 24 hours till Tuesday morning, after registering a record breaking single-day death count for the past two days. The country saw 83 Covid-related deaths on Monday and 78 on Sunday. Now the fatalities from Covid-19 rose to 9,891 with the new deaths but the mortality rate remained static at 1.42 percent for the fourth consecutive day, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said in a handout. The deadly virus claimed 568 lives in January this year, 281 in February and 638 in March.  On March 18 last year, Bangladesh reported its first coronavirus death, sparking alarm across the country. During the 24-hour reporting period, 6,028 new cases were recorded in Bangladesh, pushing up the caseload to 697,985. Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh shatters single-day death count record again The infection rate, however, slipped to 18.29 percent from Monday’s 20.59 percent. As of now, 5,070,788 samples, including 32,955 in the last 24 hours, have been tested. Bangladesh has been seeing a record number of infections with daily case count surpassing 7,000-mark earlier this month before falling significantly on April 10 and April 11.

Bangladesh’s Covid-19 fatalities rose to 7,966 on Thursday after the health authorities confirmed 16 more coronavirus-related deaths in 24 hours until morning.

The government on Thursday approved the emergency use of the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine.

Bangladesh on Thursday reported 31 coronavirus-related deaths and 1,007 new cases.

Bangladesh’s Covid-19 fatalities rose to 7,242 until early Saturday with 25 more deaths in the past 24 hours.

Bangladesh saw a rise in deaths from coronavirus infections as health authorities reported 28 more deaths in 24 hours until Saturday, pursing the death toll to 6,350.

The confirmed coronavirus tally in Bangladesh reached 368,690 on Sunday after health authorities recorded 1,125 new cases in 24 hours.

Bangladesh on Saturday reported 20 more deaths in 24 hours which is the lowest daily number of fatalities recorded in a day since May 28 when the country saw 15 deaths.

Bangladesh recorded 216 Covid-related deaths on the 39th epidemiological week till Sunday morning.