North Korea on Thursday reported 262,270 more suspected COVID-19 cases as its pandemic caseload neared 2 million — a week after the country acknowledged the outbreak and scrambled to slow infections in its unvaccinated population. The country is also trying to prevent its fragile economy from deteriorating further, but the outbreak could be worse than officially reported since the country lacks virus tests and other health care resources and may be underreporting deaths to soften the political impact on authoritarian leader Kim Jong Un. North Korea’s anti-virus headquarters reported a single additional death, raising its toll to 63, which experts have said is abnormally small compared to the suspected number of coronavirus infections. The official Korean Central News Agency said more than 1.98 million people have become sick with fever since late April. Most are believed to have COVID-19, though only a few omicron variant infections have been confirmed. At least 740,160 people are in quarantine, the news agency reported. North Korea’s outbreak comes amid a provocative streak of weapons demonstrations, including its first test of an intercontinental ballistic missile in nearly five years in March. Experts don’t believe the COVID-19 outbreak will slow Kim’s brinkmanship aimed at pressuring the United States to accept the idea of the North as a nuclear power and negotiating economic and security concessions from a position of strength. READ: Nearly 1 million COVID-19 deaths: A look at the US numbers White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Wednesday that U.S. intelligence shows there’s a “genuine possibility” that North Korea will conduct another ballistic missile test or nuclear test around President Joe Biden’s visit to South Korea and Japan that begins later this week. After maintaining a dubious claim that it had kept the virus out of the country for two and a half years, North Korea acknowledged its first COVID-19 infections May 12 and has described a rapid spread since. Kim has called the outbreak a “great upheaval,” berated officials for letting the virus spread and restricted the movement of people and supplies between cities and regions. Workers were mobilized to find people with suspected COVID-19 symptoms who were then sent to quarantine — the main method of curbing the outbreak since North Korea is short of medical supplies and intensive care units that lowered COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths in other nations. State media images showed health workers in hazmat suits guarding Pyongyang’s closed-off streets, disinfecting buildings and streets and delivering food and other supplies to apartment blocks. Despite the vast numbers of sick people and the efforts to curb the outbreak, state media describe large groups of workers continuing to gather at farms, mining facilities, power stations and construction sites. Experts say North Korea cannot afford a lockdown that would hinder production in an economy already broken by mismanagement, crippling U.S.-led sanctions over Kim’s nuclear weapons ambitions and pandemic border closures. North Korea also must urgently work to protect its crops from a drought that hit during the crucial rice-planting season — a worrisome development in a country that has long suffered from food insecurity. State media also said that Kim’s trophy construction projects, including the building of 10,000 new houses in the town of Hwasong, are being “propelled as scheduled.” Also Read: North Korea confirms 1st Covid outbreak, Kim orders lockdown “All sectors of the national economy are stepping up the production to the maximum while strictly observing the anti-epidemic steps taken by the party and the state,” Korean Central News Agency reported. The virus controls at workplaces include separating workers by their job classifications and quarantining worker units at construction sites and in its key metal, chemical, electricity and coal industries, KCNA said. Kee Park, a global health specialist at Harvard Medical School who has worked on health care projects in North Korea, said the country’s number of new cases should start to slow because of the strengthened preventive measures. But it will be challenging for North Korea to provide treatment for the already large number of people with COVID-19. Deaths may possibly approach tens of thousands, considering the size of its caseload, and international assistance would be crucial, Park said. “The best way to prevent these deaths are to treat with antivirals like Paxlovid,” which would significantly lower the risk of severe disease or death, Park said. “This is much faster and easier to implement than sending ventilators to build ICU capacity.” Other experts say providing a small number of vaccines for high-risk groups such as the elderly would prevent deaths, though mass vaccinations would be impossible at this stage for the population of 26 million. It’s unclear, however, if North Korea would accept outside help. It already shunned vaccines offered by the U.N.-backed COVAX distribution program, and the nation’s leaders have expressed confidence the country can overcome the crisis on its own. Kim Tae-hyo, deputy national security adviser for South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, told reporters on Thursday that North Korea has ignored offers of help from South Korea and the United States to contain the outbreak. Experts have said North Korea may be more willing to accept help from China, its main ally. South Korea’s government had said it couldn’t confirm media reports that North Korea flew planes to bring back emergency supplies from China this week.

The global Covid-19 caseload is fast approaching 228 million, with the world still struggling to contain the second wave of the pandemic. The total caseload and fatalities from the virus stand at 227,602,725 and 4,678,667 respectively, as of Saturday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU). So far, 5,856,986,378 Covid vaccine doses have been administered across the globe. The US has logged 41,992,919 cases and 672,615 deaths to date, according to the JHU data. Brazil currently has the world's second-highest pandemic death toll after the United States and the third-largest caseload after the United States and India. The country has recorded 21,080,219 cases, with 589,573 fatalities so far, according to the health ministry. Read: Over 4.4 million Covid cases reported worldwide in one week India's Covid-19 tally rose to 33,381,728 on Friday, as 34,403 new cases were registered in 24 hours across the country, showed the federal health ministry's latest data. Besides, as many as 320 deaths were recorded since Thursday morning, taking the death toll to 444,248. Situation in Bangladesh Bangladesh logged 38 more Covid-19 deaths and 1,907 fresh cases in 24 hours till Friday morning. The daily case positivity rate increased to 6.41 per lcent on Friday, a slight rise from Thursday’s 5.98 percent, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). Read:'India likely to have Covid shot for children by September' The new cases were detected after testing 30,169 samples during the period. Meanwhile, the fatality rate remained static at 1.76 percent, said the DGHS. The fresh numbers pushed the country’s Covid death tally to 27,147, while the caseload mounted to 15,40,110. The recovery rate rose to 97.20 percent, with the recovery of 2,919 more patients during the 24-hour period. On Tuesday, the country recorded 35 deaths, the lowest in around three months. However, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that the daily case positivity rate should remain at 5 percent or below for 14 days before mass unlocking.

The global Covid-19 caseload surpassed the 202-million mark, as the second wave of the pandemic continues to wreck havoc across the world amid mass inoculation efforts. The total caseload and fatalities stand at 202,211,438 and 4,285,595, respectively, as of Sunday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU). So far, 4, 376,808, 997 vaccine doses have been administered across the globe. The US, which is the world's worst-hit country in terms of both cases and deaths, has so far logged 35,738,700 cases. Besides, 616,713 people have lost their lives in the US to date, as per the JHU data. Brazil, which has the world's second-highest pandemic death toll after the United States, and the third-largest caseload after the United States and India, registered 990 more COVID-19 deaths in the past 24 hours, raising the national death toll to 562,752, the health ministry said on Sunday. Also read: Little new evidence emerges in US probe of Covid-19 origins Meanwhile, the nationwide caseload rose to 20,151,779 after 43,033 new cases were detected. India's COVID-19 tally rose to 31,895,385 on Saturday as 38,628 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, showed the federal health ministry's latest data. Besides, as many as 617 deaths were recorded since Friday morning, taking the death toll to 427,371. Also read: Covid’s frightening peak in Bangladesh; record 231 more die Situation in Bangladesh With Coronavirus and its new variant posing a real danger to the public health in Bangladesh, the country came up with another shocking figure of 261 fresh deaths on Saturday. This is the second-highest single day deaths from the viral disease in Bangladesh as Covid-19, fueled by the deadly Delta variant, continues to wreak havoc in the country. The country has been reporting over 200 single-day fatalities for the last two weeks as it races to head off a surge in Covid-19 cases driven by the unrelenting Delta variant. After weathering the first wave of the virus, Bangladesh's hospitals are almost overwhelmed. Also read: France: Thousands protest against vaccination, COVID passes The country registered 8,136 new cases on Saturday after testing 31,714 samples. It reported the highest daily Covid-19 fatality of 264 on August 5 and 16,230 infections on July 28. As more people are falling sick with Covid-19 and dying, hospitals in Dhaka and other cities are running out of beds. There have been 1,343,396 infections and 22,411 coronavirus-related deaths here since the pandemic began, according to the Directorate General of Health Services.        

The global Covid-19 caseload has now surpassed 201 million as the highly contagious Delta variant continues to devastate several countries even with mass inoculations underway. The total caseload and fatalities stand at 201,662,684 and 4,276,940 respectively, as of Saturday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU). So far, 4,346,167,629 vaccine doses have been administered across the globe. The US, which is the world's worst-hit country in terms of both cases and deaths, has so far logged 35,692,078 cases. Besides, 616,478 people have lost their lives in the US to date, as per the JHU data. Brazil has registered 1,056 more Covid-19 deaths in the past 24 hours, raising its national death toll to 561,762, the health ministry said on Friday. Read:Covid vaccination reduces chances of hospitalization, mortality: IEDCR study Meanwhile, the total caseload rose to 20,108,746 after 42,159 new cases were detected. Brazil currently has the world's second-highest pandemic death toll after the United States, and the third-largest caseload after the United States and India. India's Covid-19 tally rose to 31,856,757 on Friday as 44,643 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, according to the federal health ministry's latest data. Read: Govt has set up 16,000 Covid beds since the beginning of pandemic: Zahid Maleque Besides, as many as 464 deaths were reported during this period, taking the total death toll to 426,754. Situation in Bangladesh As the ruthless Delta variant keeps spreading like wildfire, Bangladesh added 248 fatalities to its national tally Friday, up from 212 logged a week earlier. The country has been reporting over 200 single-day fatalities for the past two weeks as it races to head off a surge in Covid-19 cases driven by the unrelenting Delta variant. After weathering the first wave of the virus, Bangladesh's health services are now stretched dangerously thin. The Covid-19 infections are on the upswing, with 13,771 – 95% of the peak – new cases reported on an average each day. Read: Covid in Bangladesh: Seniors far more likely to face the worst Bangladesh recorded 12,606 new cases on Friday after testing 48,015 samples, down from 13,862 logged a week earlier on July 30. There have been 1,335,260 infections and 22,150 coronavirus-related deaths here since the pandemic began, according to the Directorate General of Health Services.  

The global Covid-19 caseload has now surpassed the grim milestone of 191 million as the highly contagious Delta variant is spreading like wildfire in several countries even with mass inoculations underway. The total caseload and fatalities stand at 191,389,727 and 4,114,267, respectively, as of Wednesday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU). So far, 3,894,980,287 vaccine doses have been administered across the globe. Also read: France: Thousands protest against vaccination, COVID passes The US, which is the world's worst-hit country in terms of both cases and deaths, has so far logged 34,174,682 cases. Besides, 609, 529 people have lost their lives in the US to date, as per the JHU data. Brazil on Tuesday registered 1,452 more Covid deaths in 24 hours, that pushed up its national fatality toll to 544,302, according to the country's health ministry. As many as 27,896 new cases were detected during the period, taking the total caseload to 19,419,741, the ministry said. Brazil currently has the world's second-highest pandemic death toll after the United States, and the third-largest caseload after the United States and India. The third worst-hit country, India's Covid tally rose to 31,215,142 after 42,123 new cases were registered in the past 24 hours, as per the federal health ministry's latest corona data. Besides, 489 deaths due to the pandemic since Monday morning has taken the total death toll to 418,511. Also read: Little new evidence emerges in US probe of Covid-19 origins Situation in Bangladesh Bangladesh reported 200 more deaths linked to Covid-19 in 24 hours till Tuesday morning, plunging the country into uncertainty. The virus also infected 11,579 others during the period as Bangladesh stepped into a three-day Eid holiday with relaxation in the lockdown rules. With the fresh figures, the total Covid caseload stands at 11,28,889 and the death toll at 18,325, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). The country has been seeing 200-plus Covid-related deaths for the past two weeks on an average. Bangladesh reported its highest daily Covid-19 fatality of 231 on Monday. The new cases were reported after testing 39,510 samples. The case positivity rate slightly declined to 29.31% from Monday’s 29.59%, said the DGHS. Also read: Covid’s frightening peak in Bangladesh; record 231 more die Meanwhile, the country’s fatality rate remained static at 1.62%. So far, 9,51,340 people have recovered from the disease, taking the recovery rate to 84.27%. Dhaka division reported 51 of the deaths while Khulna saw 50 and Chattogram 49 deaths. Besides, 12 people died in Rajshahi and Rangpur divisions each, 11 in Sylhet, eight in Mymensingh and seven in Barishal divisions. With 3,822 deaths so far, July looks to be the most fatal month since the country saw its fast Covid cases in March 2020. Earlier, the country saw 2,404 Covid deaths in April, 1,169 in May and 1,884 in June. Also, July was the most fatal month in 2020, reporting 1,264 deaths followed by 1,197 deaths in June that year. Hospitals are now overwhelmed with patients and struggling to cope with the country’s devastating second wave of Covid infections, driven by the Delta variant.

The global Covid-19 caseload is fast nearing the grim milestone of 191 million as the highly contagious Delta variant is spreading rapidly in several countries amid mass vaccination drives. The total caseload and fatalities stand at 190,877,071 and 4,095,650, respectively, as of Tuesday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU). So far, 3,646,506,843 vaccine doses have been administered across the globe. Read:Natural origins theory of Covid-19 still the most likely: Fauci The US, which is the world's worst-hit country in terms of both cases and deaths, has so far logged 34,129,941 cases. Besides, 609,231 people have lost their lives in the US to date, as per the JHU data. Brazil has registered 542 more Covid-19 deaths in the past 24 hours, raising its national death toll to 542,756, the health ministry said Monday. As many as 15,271 new cases were detected during the period, taking the total caseload to 19,391,845, the ministry said. Brazil currently has the world's second-highest pandemic death toll after the United States, and the third-largest caseload after the United States and India. The third worst-hit country, India's tally rose to 31,144,229 after 38,164 new cases were registered in the past 24 hours across the country, the federal health ministry's latest data showed. Besides, 499 deaths due to the pandemic since Sunday morning took the total death toll to 414,108. Situation in Bangladesh Reeling from the devastating second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, Bangladesh on Monday saw 231 corona-related deaths, the highest since the pandemic hit the country, amid an eight-day pause in the nationwide strict lockdown. Read: Covid’s frightening peak in Bangladesh; record 231 more die The situation is likely to get worse because of the fallout from the lockdown pause ahead of Eid holidays, many experts believe. With Covid's Delta variant spreading fast, Bangladesh have already tallied more than 1.1 million infections and 18,000-plus deaths from the pandemic. The country's fatalities have been hovering at roughly 200 for the past two weeks. Also, Covid-19 infections in Bangladesh have reached 99% of the peak, with more than 11,828 new cases reported each day. The highest daily average was reported on July 15. The country recorded 13,321 infections in 24 hours till Monday morning after testing 45,012 samples. Bangladesh reported its highest daily Covid-19 fatality of 230 on July 11 and 13,768 infections the next day. The second wave of the pandemic is threatening to overwhelm the country's health infrastructure. There have been 1,117,310 infections and 18,125 coronavirus-related deaths in Bangladesh since the pandemic began, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). Read:Covid claims 52 more lives in Khulna division 1,165 fresh cases recorded Meanwhile, the daily test positivity rate rose to 29.59% though the death rate remained unchanged at 1.62%, and the recovery rate dropped to 84.25%. Dhaka division reported the highest 73 deaths, Khulna 57, Chattogram 43, Rangpur 17, Rajshahi 16, Mymensingh 11, Sylhet eight and Barisal six. So far, Bangladesh has administered at least 10,908,272 doses of Covid vaccines – enough to have vaccinated around 3.1% of the country's population, assuming every person needs two doses.

The global Covid-19 caseload is fast nearing the grim milestone of 190 million as the highly contagious Delta variant is spreading rapidly in different countries amid vaccination drives. The total caseload and fatalities stand at 189,924,297 and 4,081,535 respectively as of Sunday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU). Read:France: Thousands protest against vaccination, COVID passes So far, 3,596,183,765 vaccine doses have been administered across the globe. The US, which is the world's worst-hit country in terms of both cases and deaths, has so far logged 34,067,424 cases. Besides, 608,881 people have lost their lives in the US to date. Brazil registered 868 more COVID-19 deaths in the past 24 hours, raising its national death toll to 541,266, the health ministry said Saturday. As many as 34,339 new cases were detected, taking the total caseload to 19,342,448, the ministry said. Brazil currently has the world's second-highest pandemic death toll after the United States, and the third-largest caseload, after the United States and India. The third worst-hit country, India's COVID-19 tally rose to 31,064,908 on Saturday, as 38,079 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, according to the federal health ministry's latest data. Read: Little new evidence emerges in US probe of Covid-19 origins Besides, 560 deaths due to the pandemic have been reported since Friday morning, took the total death toll to 413,091. Overall, the number of confirmed coronavirus infections worldwide over the past seven days has increased by 3.5 mln. The world documented 0.5 mln more infections than a week before, according to TASS’ calculations. Situation in Bangladesh As Bangladesh continues to struggle with the deadlier 2nd wave of Covid-19 , the country lost 204 more lives in 24 hours till Saturday morning, setting off growing concern among people. The virus also infected 8,489 others during the period. The new figures took the death tally to 17,669 and caseload to 10,92,411, according to a handout issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). Read: It was premature to rule out Covid lab leak: WHO The fresh cases were detected after testing 29,214 samples during the period which took the positivity rate to 29.06% from Friday’s  28.96%. However, the fatality rate remained unchanged at 1.61% during the period.

With new variants of Covid-19 spreading rapidly, the global Covid-19 caseload on Saturday touched the grim milestone of 151 million. The total corona fatalities also mounted to 3,176,404, according to the latest figures released by Johns Hopkins University. The US, the world's worst-hit country in terms of cases and deaths, have recorded 32,345,062 cases with 575,921 fatalities to date, as per the university data. Also read: Virus surge, vaccine shortages spread beyond India’s borders Neighbouring India’s total Covid cases have now crossed the 19-million mark. The country’s caseload and death toll currently stand at 19,164, 969 and 211,853, respectively, according to the Indian Health Ministry. India’s Covid tension eased a bit as cases dropped in September. But infections began increasing in February. India’s daily deaths have nearly tripled in the past three weeks, reflecting the intensity of the latest surge. And the country’s already teetering health system is under immense strain, prompting multiple global allies to send help, reports AP. Brazil on Friday registered 2,870 more deaths from Covid-19 in 24 hours, raising the national count to 404,287, the world's second-highest corona death toll after the US, the Ministry of Health said. The ministry said that tests detected 73,076 new Covid-19 cases, taking its nationwide tally to 14,665,962. April has been the month with the most deaths since the outbreak of the pandemic in the Latin American nation, with about 75,944 fatalities having been reported to date, compared with 66,000 deaths for March. Also read: Bangladesh's daily Covid-19 death toll drops below 60 Situation in Bangladesh Bangladesh on Saturday recorded its lowest single-day more coronavirus-related death of 57 and 2,177 new cases amid a rising tide of virus. The daily infection rate rose to 10.34 percent from Friday’s 9.39 percent but the mortality rate was at 1.51 percent. However, the infection rate in the country came down to 10 percent after over a month. As of Saturday, 7,59,132 cases and 11,450 deaths have been recorded, the Directorate General of Health Services said in a handout. The number of recoveries now stands at 681,426, (89.76 %), 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 disturbing surge in Covid cases 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, shops and shopping malls will remain open from 10am to 8pm during the extended period, the government has said. Vaccination Bangladesh launched a vaccination drive on February 7 with Oxford-AstraZeneca doses it acquired from the Serum Institute of India. Also read: Bangladesh approves local production of Russian, Chinese Covid vaccines 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. Moreover, the government on Thursday approved the emergency use of Sinopharm, a Chinese Covid-19 vaccine. It approved the emergency use of Sputnik V vaccine of Russia a day before.

Amid the worrying situation of Covid-19 infection in different parts of the world, the global cases surpassed 127 million on Monday. The total case count reached 127,116,964 while the death toll from the virus mounted to 2,783,689, according to the data compiled by Johns Hopkins University (JHU). The US has recorded 30,262,123 cases with 549,335 fatalities. Also read: Global Covid-19 cases top 126.6 million The U.S. has surpassed 30 million confirmed cases of COVID-19 on March 25.The new milestone comes as public health experts show cautious optimism three months into the U.S. vaccination rollout. It is believed that 70% of Americans 65 and older have received at least one dose of the vaccine and COVID-19 deaths are below 1,000 a day on average for the first time since November, reports AP. The federal government is dramatically ramping up vaccine production and several states have already expanded vaccination eligibility to people age 16 and up. Besides, Brazil has registered 12,534,688 cases while the death toll from COVID-19 in the country now stands at 312,206 as of Monday. India’s total tally reached 11,971,624 and the death toll from the virus surged to 161,552 till Monday morning. Situation in Bangladesh A growing number of coronavirus cases and an alarming uptrend in the daily infection rate are posing big challenges to Bangladesh in its fight against the deadly virus. A 2.75 percent rise in the infection rate was recorded on Sunday (17.65 percent) compared to 14.9 percent a day earlier. The country’s health authorities reported 3,908 new cases and 35 Covid-related deaths during a 24-hour period until Sunday morning. Also read: WHO report says animals likely source of COVID   Now, the local fatality tally stands at 8,904, according to a handout of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). The country reported its first coronavirus-related death on March 18 last year. Bangladesh, which announced its first cases on March 8 last year, has so far reported 595,714 infections. However, the mortality rate was recorded at 1.4 percent on Sunday which was 1.5 percent on Saturday. So far, 535,941 patients (89.97 percent) have recovered, including 2,019 in the last 24 hours, according to DGHS. So far, 4,588,830 samples, including 22,136 in the past 24 hours, have been tested. Coronavirus cases were first reported in China in December 2019. Until Sunday, countries around the world confirmed 126.6 million cases with 2.77 million fatalities, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Also read: 36 countries yet to get Covid jabs: WHO  Fight against Covid Along with a countrywide vaccination drive, the government has taken a tougher stance to tackle the transmission of Covid-19. The Health Ministry sent letters to districts, directing the officials concerned to impose fines on people flouting Covid protocols. Meanwhile, the closure of schools and colleges were extended until May 23 as the situation showed no sign of improvement. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Sunday said she wants quick steps to fight the fresh surge of Covid-19 cases. “We’ll have to take prompt steps as we did in the past,” she said at a virtual discussion. She said health guidelines and safe physical distance will have to be maintained at every programme and the use of face masks must be ensured.

Coronavirus claimed 34 more lives in Bangladesh in the last 24 hours till Thursday, a record number of deaths in the past three months. According to the latest figures provided by the country’s health authorities, 3,587 more people got infected during the period, pushing up the total caseload to 5,84,395. Also read:  Global Covid cases near 125 million With the latest death toll, the coronavirus fatalities rose to 8,763 in Bangladesh, said a handout of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). The infection rate jumped to 13.26 percent from 12.97 percent a day before. Also read: Brazil becomes 2nd nation to top 300,000 COVID-19 deaths