Three more people died from Covid, and 349 tested positive for the virus in Bangladesh in the 24 hours to Saturday. While the country's total fatalities reached 29,288, the new number took its caseload to 2,004,892, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). The daily case positivity rate rose to 6.64 percent from Friday's 5.84 as 5,256 samples were tested. Of the deceased, two were men and one woman; two of them were from Dhaka division and another was from Sylhet division. Also read: Coal production suspended as 90 mine workers contract Covid in Dinajpur The mortality rate remained unchanged at 1.46 percent. The recovery rate rose to 96.84 percent from Friday's 96.82 percent. In June, the country reported 18 Covid-linked deaths and 20,201 new cases, according to the DGHS. Bangladesh reported its first zero Covid death on November 20 last year since the pandemic broke out here in March 2020. Also read: Global Covid cases top 580 million The country registered its highest daily caseload of 16,230 on July 28 last year and daily fatalities of 264 on August 10 in the same year.

The overall number of Covid cases is gradually approaching 550 million amid a rise in new infections in Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Europe. According to the latest global data, the total case count mounted to 549,667,293 while the death toll from the virus reached 6,352,025 on Tuesday morning. The US has recorded 88,910,140 cases so far and 1,041,027 people have died from the virus in the country, the data shows. Also read: Covid-19: Bangladesh logs 2 more deaths with 2,101 infections In India, as many as 13,562 new Covid-19 cases were recorded in 24 hours, taking the total tally to 43,420,608, according to the data released by the health ministry on Monday. Besides, 21 deaths were reported due to the pandemic in the country since Saturday morning, bringing the death toll to 525,020. Covid in Bangladesh Bangladesh reported two more Covid-linked deaths with 1,680 new infections in 24 hours till Sunday morning. The new figures took the country’s total death toll to 29,140 and the caseload to 19,65,173, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). The daily case positivity rate jumped to 15.66 per cent from Saturday’s 15.07 per cent as 10,778 samples were tested during the period, said the DGHS. Also read: Health Minister concerned over uptick in Covid, urges return to protocols The deceased included a woman and a man, both from Dhaka division. On Saturday, the country recorded 1,280 cases with three deaths from Covid-19. The mortality rate remained unchanged at 1.48 per cent. The recovery rate declined to 97.02 per cent from Saturday’s 97.10 per cent as 169 patients recovered during this period.

Former President Bill Clinton was admitted to a Southern California hospital Tuesday with an infection but he is “on the mend,” his spokesman said Thursday. Clinton, 75, was admitted to the University of California Irvine Medical Center on Tuesday evening for a non-COVID-related infection, Angel Ureña said in a statement. “He is on the mend, in good spirits and is incredibly thankful to the doctors, nurses, and staff providing him with excellent care,” Ureña said. Also read: Clinton jabs again at Sanders, says he didn't unite party A second statement from Clinton's spokesman quoted physicians Dr. Alpesh Amin and Dr. Lisa Bardack, who said the former president has been “administered IV antibiotics and fluids.” "After two days of treatment, his white blood cell count is trending down and he is responding to antibiotics well,” the doctors said. “The California-based medical team has been in constant communication with the President’s New York-based medical team, including his cardiologist. We hope to have him go home soon.” In the years since Clinton left the White House in 2001, the former president has faced health scares. In 2004, he underwent quadruple bypass surgery after experiencing prolonged chest pains and shortness of breath. He returned to the hospital for surgery for a partially collapsed lung in 2005, and in 2010 had a pair of stents implanted in a coronary artery. He responded by embracing a largely vegan diet that saw him lose weight and report improved health. Also read: Hillary Clinton and Louise Penny co-writing mystery novel He repeatedly returned to the stump, campaigning for Democratic candidates, mostly notably his wife, Hillary, during her failed 2008 bid for the presidential nomination. And in 2016, as Hillary Clinton sought the White House as the Democratic nominee, Bill Clinton — by then a grandfather and nearing 70 — returned to the campaign trail. A spokesman for the Clinton Foundation said the former president was in the Los Angeles area for private events related to his charitable organization. The UCI Medical Center is in Orange County, about 40 miles (64 km) southeast of Los Angeles.

Jatiya Party Secretary General Ziauddin Ahmed Bablu has been admitted to a city hospital with Covid-19 infections.  He was admitted to Labaid Specialised Hospital in the capital’s Dhanmondi area on Monday evening, Jatiya Party chairman's deputy press secretary Khandaker Deloar Jalali told UNB on Tuesday. He said Bablu underwent Covid test the same day and the result came out positive.   Jalali, however, said the physical condition of the Jatiya Party leader is good as there is no major complication. He said their party chairman, GM Quader, urged all to pray for the speedy recovery of Bablu. Party sources said Bablu recently took part in electioneering in favour of the Jatiya Party candidate in Sylhet-3 by-election held on September 4.  He fell ill after his return to Dhaka from Sylhet and then underwent the Covid test.

As the Covid infection rate continues to swell in Bangladesh, the country recorded 241 more deaths in 24 hours till Wednesday morning. According to a handout issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), 13,817 more people came out positive with the virus during the period after the test of 49,514 samples. The fresh numbers pushed the country’s death tally to 21,638 today with the caseload mounting to 1,309,910. Meanwhile, the daily test positivity rate fell slightly to 27.91 % from  Tuesday’s 28.58%, while the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a 5% or below rate. The recovery rate, however, rose to 87.12%, and the case fatality remained static at 1.65% compared to the same period, said the DGHS. READ: Covid: Khulna aims to inoculate over 1.16 lakh residents Around 16,112 Covid-19 patients have recovered during the last 24-hour period. Dhaka division continues to be on top of Covid fatalities with 93 deaths followed by 36 in Khulna, 15 in Rangpur, 12 in Rajshahi, seven in Mymensingh and five each in Barishal and Sylhet divisions. Of them, 125 were men and 116 were women. Among them, five were within 21-30, 22 between 31-40, 25 between 41-50, 55 between 51-60 and 134 were above 60 years old, added the DGHS release. READ: Covid in Bangladesh: Seniors far more likely to face the worst With the vaccination drive slowly gaining momentum, 216,534 people got their first Sinopharm jab during the period. Besides, 11898,10,931 and 1026 people  received their second dose of Astrazeneca, Sinopharm and Moderna vaccines respectively during this period. Bangladesh is planning to vaccinate one crore people in six days through a special drive from Aug 7 to 12.

Residents of the border areas of the district are growingly worried about highly contagious Delta variant of Covid infection as smuggling of Indian cattle has reportedly increased ahead of Eid-ul-Azha. The cattle smuggling has become rampant through the porous frontier of the district, alleged the local people. Also read: Record-high cattle arrivals from Myanmar Wednesday The smugglers bring the Indian cows during the night using both land and river routes, they said. In the local haats the Indian cattle are available and traders from different districts throng there as the demand has spiked because of upcoming Eid festival of sacrifice.

BNP Chairperson’s adviser Amanullah Aman was admitted to a hospital in the capital on Saturday with coronavirus infections. Aman, a former vice president of Dhaka University Central Students' Union (Ducsu), was taken to Square Hospitals around 1:30pm, said BNP vice chairman Dr AZM Zahid Hossain. He said Aman underwent a Covid test on Friday and the result came out positive. Zahid said Aman is doing fine as he has no major complications. He said Aman was admitted to the hospital to receive the proper treatment of the deadly virus. Aman was the VP of Ducsu during 1990 and he was later elected MP thrice from Dhaka-3 seat.

French doctors have new advice to slow the spread of the virus: stop talking on public transport.

Prof AJM Nuruddin Chowdhury, former Vice Chancellor of Chittagong University (CU), died of coronavirus infection at a hospital in Dhaka on Saturday. He was 70.