Bangladesh on Friday saw 212 Covid-19 deaths, the highest number since the pandemic hit the country, amid a strict nationwide lockdown in effect since July 1. Also, Covid-19 infections in the country are at their peak now, with 9,665 new cases reported each day – the highest daily average. The country recorded 11,324 infections in 24 hours till Friday morning after testing 36,850 samples. Bangladesh reported its highest daily Covid-19 fatality of 201 on Wednesday and 11, 651 cases on Thursday. The country is in the grip of a second wave of the coronavirus that is threatening to overwhelm its health service. Also read: Dhaka reemerging as Covid hotspot as battle plan ‘fails’: Experts There have been 1,000,543 infections and 16,004 coronavirus-related deaths in Bangladesh since the pandemic began, according to the Directorate General of Health Services. However, the test positivity rate dropped to 14.49%. The daily positivity rate of 31.62% on Thursday raised concerns among experts as the World Health Organization recommended a 5% or below rate. Meanwhile, the death rate remains unchanged at 1.60%, and the recovery rate dropped to 86.19%. Khulna division reported the highest 79 deaths, Dhaka 53, Chattogram 26, Rajshahi 23, Rangpur 12, Mymensingh eight, Sylhet six and Barishal five. Also read: Global Covid cases top 185 million Hospitals are now overwhelmed with patients and struggling to cope as the country is experiencing a devastating second wave of Covid infections, driven by the Delta variant. The Prime Minister's Office on Thursday directed the authorities concerned to increase oxygen supply and corona beds in hospitals across the country to ensure the treatment of Covid-19 patients. So far, Bangladesh has administered at least 10,114,578 doses of Covid vaccines – enough to have vaccinated around 3.1% of the country's population, assuming every person needs two doses.

The health authorities also announced 24 more deaths in the last 24 hours, taking total fatalities to 5,524. But with 1,495 patients recovering during this period, the total recoveries from coronavirus shop up to 292,860. The fatality rate in Bangladesh is 1.46 percent, th