Bangladesh reported 21 more Covid cases in the 24 hours till Wednesday morning.With the new numbers, the country's total caseload rose to 2,037,067, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).However, the official death toll from the disease remained unchanged at 29,439 as no new fatalities were reported.The daily case test positivity increased to 0.79 percent from Tuesday’s 0.49 percent as 2,666 samples were tested during the period. Read more: Bangladesh sees another Covid death, 438 cases in 24hrsThe mortality and recovery rates remained unchanged at 1.45 percent and 97.57 percent respectively.In November, the country reported 10 Covid-linked deaths and 1,345 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.

As many as 709 people were killed and 840 others injured in 668 accidents that occurred on road, railways and waterways in November across the country, according to the Passenger Welfare Association of Bangladesh.   Among the casualties, 643 people were killed and 826 injured in 586 accidents on roads and highways during the period from November 1 to November 30. Besides, 51 people were killed and four others injured in 64 accidents on the railway while 15 people were killed, 10 others injured and seven people reported missing in 18 accidents on the waterways during the same period.   Passenger Welfare Association of Bangladesh, a non-government organisation, compiled the report based on published news of various national dailies, online news portals and mass media, said a press release on Tuesday.  Read more: 7 killed in road accidents in 3 districts The group identified several reasons behind most of the accidents. Among them, dangerous overtaking, reckless speed, unfit vehicles, lack of footpaths or grabbed footpaths, sudden entrance of vehicles from feeder roads at railway crossings and highways, increasing number of small vehicles.   Besides, lack of service lanes on various national and regional highways, easy bikes, rickshaws, autorickshaws come down from various feeder roads on national and regional highways were the other reasons, it said. Read more: 5 dead, 4 injured in Narayanganj road accident

One more death from Dengue in 24 hours till Thursday morning raised this year’s fatalities from the mosquito-borne disease to 217. During the period, 685 patients were hospitalised with the viral fever, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). With the new patients, this year’s dengue caseload rose to 51,444, it said. Read more: No respite from Dengue: Death toll rises to 213 The latest death was reported from Dhaka. The new figure raised the death toll in Dhaka division to 131. Meanwhile, death toll remained unchanged at eleven in Khulna, nine in Barishal, six in Rajshahi, and five in Mymensingh division. Of the new patients, 353 were admitted to different hospitals in Dhaka and 332 outside it, according to the DGHS. A total of 2,750 dengue patients, including 1,524 in the capital, are now receiving treatment at hospitals across the country. The Directorate has recorded 48,477 recoveries so far this year. On November 8, this year’s fatalities from the mosquito-borne disease reached 182, exceeding all previous records in Bangladesh. Earlier the country recorded the highest 179 deaths from Dengue in a year in 2019.

A joyous scene of marching bands and children dancing in Santa hats and waving pompoms turned deadly in an instant, as an SUV sped through barricades and into a Christmas parade in suburban Milwaukee, killing at least five people and injuring more than 40 others. One video showed a woman screaming, “Oh my God!” repeatedly as a group of young dancers was struck Sunday. A father talked of going “from one crumpled body to the other” in search of his daughter. Members of a “Dancing Grannies” club were among those hit. The city of Waukesha posted on its social media accounts late Sunday that it could confirm at least five died and more than 40 were injured, while noting that it was still collecting information. The city's statement also noted that many people took themselves to hospitals. The city did not release any additional information about those who died. A “person of interest” was in custody, Waukesha Police Chief Dan Thompson said, but he gave no details about the person or any possible motive. The investigation was ongoing, with assistance from the Wisconsin Department of Justice. Read:US missionaries say 2 of 17 abductees freed in Haiti “What took place in Waukesha today is sickening, and I have every confidence that those responsible will be brought to justice,” Attorney General Josh Kaul, the state’s top law enforcement officer, tweeted. The horror was recorded by the city’s livestream and onlookers' cellphones. One video shows the moment the SUV broke through the barricades and the sound of what appears to be several gunshots. Thompson said a Waukesha police officer fired his gun to try to stop the vehicle. No bystanders were injured by the gunfire, and Thompson said he did not know if the driver was struck by the officer’s bullets. Another video shows a young child dancing in the street as the SUV speeds by, just a few feet from her, before it hurtles into parade participants a few hundred feet ahead. One video, of dancers with pompoms, ends with a group of people tending to a girl on the ground. “There were pompoms and shoes and spilled hot chocolate everywhere. I had to go from one crumpled body to the other to find my daughter,” Corey Montiho, a Waukesha school district board member, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “My wife and two daughters were almost hit. Please pray for everybody. Please pray.” The Milwaukee Dancing Grannies posted on its Facebook page that “members of the group and volunteers were impacted and we are waiting for word on their conditions.” The group’s profile describes them as a “group of grannies that meet once a week to practice routines for summer and winter parades.” A Catholic priest, multiple parishioners and Waukesha Catholic schoolchildren were among those injured, the Archdiocese of Milwaukee spokeswoman Sandra Peterson said. Chris Germain, co-owner of the Aspire Dance Center studio, had about 70 people in the parade ranging from as young as 2 being pulled in wagons to age 18. Germain, whose 3-year-old daughter was in the parade, said he was driving at the head of their entry when he saw a maroon SUV that “just blazed right past us.” A police officer ran past in chase. Germain said he jumped out of his own SUV and gathered the girls who were with him to safety. Then he walked forward to see the damage. “There were small children laying all over the road, there were police officers and EMTs doing CPR on multiple members of the parade,” he said. Read:Elizabeth Holmes takes the stand in her criminal fraud trial Angelito Tenorio, a West Allis alderman who is running for Wisconsin state treasurer, said he was watching the parade with his family when they saw the SUV come speeding into the area. “Then we heard a loud bang,” Tenorio said. “And after that, we just heard deafening cries and screams from the crowd, from the people at the parade. And people started rushing, running away with tears in their eyes, crying.” The Waukesha school district canceled classes Monday and said in a notice on its website that extra counselors would be on hand for students and staff. The parade’s list of entries included cheer, dance and band entries associated with district schools. Gov. Tony Evers said he and his wife, Kathy, were “praying for Waukesha tonight and all the kids, families, and community members affected by this senseless act.” The parade, held each year on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, is sponsored by the city’s Chamber of Commerce. This year’s, the 59th, had the theme of “comfort and joy.” Waukesha is a western suburb of Milwaukee, and about 55 miles (90 kilometers) north of Kenosha, where Kyle Rittenhouse was acquitted Friday of charges stemming from the shooting of three men during unrest in that city in August 2020.

After seeing a deathless day from Covid-19, Bangladesh reported seven more deaths in 24 hours till Sunday morning along with 199 fresh infections. Bangladesh on Saturday logged zero Covid-linked deaths with 178 cases. The daily case positivity rate declined to 1.16 per cent today from Saturday’s 1.18 per cent, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). Also read: Zero death from Covid brings relief for Bangladesh Six of today’s deceased were men and one was a woman. Five of the deaths were reported from Dhaka division while one each from Chattogram and Khulna divisions. With the fresh numbers, the total fatalities rose to 27,953 while the caseload mounted to 1,574,088. However, the mortality rate remained static at 1.78 per cent. The fresh cases were detected after testing 17,135 samples, the DGHS added. Besides, the recovery rate remained the same as 97.72 per cent with the recovery of 192 more patients during the 24-hour period. Huge vaccination target Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Saturday said the government will administer 6 crore more Covid-19 vaccine doses by January next across the country. “So far, 9 crore vaccine doses have been administered and the government aims to administer 6 crore more doses by January next,” he said. With the administering of 6 crore more vaccine doses, some 7.5 crore people of the country will fully be vaccinated, Zahid Maleque added. Zahid Maleque said, some 13 crore people in Bangladesh are eligible to get vaccinated and 1 crore of them are living abroad. After vaccinating 7.5 crore people, he said, the remaining 3.5 crore will soon be brought under the vaccination campaign in phases. Also read: Bangladesh bracing for third Covid wave? Covid-19 Waves On January 12 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City of Hubei Province in China. On December 31, 2019, China reported to the WHO some cases of pneumonia with unknown causes. Bangladesh was hit by the Covid-19 pandemic along with many other countries across the globe on March 8 last year when Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) reported the first three cases. During mid-January to the first week of March, 2021 the infection rate remained below 5 and from the last week of March 2021, the infection and death toll gradually increased suggesting the start of the second wave of Covid-19 in the country. Third wave not ruled out Some of the leading public health experts in Bangladesh have warned that the current trend of plummeting Covid-19 cases in Bangladesh could well be the obvious calm before a cataclysmic storm. Their fears centers around children below 12 who remain out of the vaccine coverage and the elderly people. These experts fear a slow pace of vaccination, waning vaccine immunity, sheer disregard for Covid-safety protocols, reopening of schools and increased travel may set the stage for another Covid wave in Bangladesh -- a trend many European countries are witnessing now.

Bangladesh added 174 fatalities to its national tally on Monday as Covid cases and deaths continue to fall for the fourth straight day. The country is now reporting 9,315 new cases on average each day – 64% of the peak.  The highest daily average was reported on August 3. Bangladesh recorded 6,959 new cases Monday after testing 33,015 samples, down from 11,463 logged a week earlier on August 9. Also read: Much-sought MoU signed for Sinopharm vaccine coproduction in Bangladesh The country has been experiencing a surge of Covid-related caseloads and deaths since June 2021. 

The global Covid-19 caseload is now nearing the grim milestone of 201 million, as the highly contagious Delta variant continues to devastate several countries even with mass inoculations underway. The total caseload and fatalities from the virus stand at 200,792,438 and 4,265,792, respectively, as of Friday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU). So far, 4,305,633,910 Covid vaccine doses have been administered across the globe, as per the university data. The US has logged 35,432,333 cases and 615,309 deaths to date, according to the university data. The death toll in the United States is the highest in the world. Also read: US plans to require COVID-19 shots for foreign travelers India recorded the world's second highest caseload of 31,855,783, followed by Brazil with 20,066,587 cases as well as the world's second largest death toll of 560,801. Besides, India’s death toll reached 426,785 on Thursday morning. Countries with more than four million cases include Russia, France, Britain, Turkey, Argentina, Colombia, Spain, Italy and Iran, while those with over 100,000 deaths include India, Mexico, Peru, Russia, Britain, Italy, Colombia and France. The global caseload reached the grim milestone of 100 million on January 26, and doubled in more than half a year this Thursday. Situation in Bangladesh Grappling with the worst coronavirus wave spurred by the highly contagious Delta variant, Bangladesh reported 264 more deaths in 24 hours till Thursday morning, shattering all the previous records. The country saw the highest-ever 258 Covid deaths on July 27 before that. Also read: Bangladesh shatters its own records; reports 264 single-day Covid deaths Besides, 12,744 people came out positive with the virus after the test of 46,995 samples during the 24-hour period, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). The fresh numbers took the total fatality to 21,905 and the caseload to 1,322,654. The case positivity rate during the period fell slightly to 27.12% from Wednesday’s 27.91%, while the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a 5% or below rate. The country has been seeing over 14,000 cases and 230 deaths every day on an average for the last seven days. The recovery rate, however, rose to 87.47%, with the recovery of 15,786 people during the period. However, the case fatality rose to 1.66% again from Wednesday's 1.65% during the same period, the DGHS added. Dhaka division remained the worst-hit region, logging 87 deaths, followed by 56 in Chattogram, 35 in Khulna, 23 in Sylhet, 19 in Rajshahi, 18 in Rangpur, 12 in Rajshahi, 16 in Barishal and 10 in Mymensingh divisions. Of the deceased, 140 were men and 164 women.

The death toll from Covid-19 in Bangladesh crossed 14,000 on Saturday as health authorities reported 77 fresh deaths. The latest deaths took the overall national tally to 14,053. The last one thousand deaths have been recorded in just 15 days, as the number of fatalities crossed 13,000 on June 11. The previous thousand (from 12,000 to 13,000) took a full month, as the 12,000 mark was crossed on May 11. Still, the number of deaths recorded a substantial fall from the previous day's figure. The deadly virus was reported to have killed 108 people on Friday, the 2nd highest number in daily deaths since the outbreak of Covid in Bangladesh in March, 2020. The daily caseload also fell sharply, with 4,334 new cases pushing up the total caseload to 8,83,138. On Friday health authorities reported 5,869 new cases. But the drop in cases was most likely a function of reduced testing, as the day's positivity rate rose to 22.50 % from 21.22% on Friday, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). Saturday's caseload was derived from testing 19,262 samples in 554 labs across the country. Friday's number was derived from testing 27,653 samples. Also read: Strict nationwide lockdown in Bangladesh from Monday as Covid situation worsens If the same number of samples were tested on Saturday (27,653), given the day's positivity rate, the number of cases would have exceeded yesterday's number.    Today's positivity rate is the highest since April 16, when the rate was 23.36%. Meanwhile, the case fatality rate remained static at 1.59%. On a positive note, 3,295 patients  recovered from  Covid-19 during the last 24 hours, with a 90.68% recovery rate. Among the latest deaths, 48 were men, and 29 were women. Chattogram overtook Khulna in terms of highest number of fatalities as 20 people were recorded dead by the viral disease in the last 24 hours in the port city. Khulna came second in terms of daily deaths as 19 people died in the division. Besides, 17 more died in Dhaka, 9 in Rajshahi, 4 each in Sylhet and Rangpur, 3 in Mymensingh, and 1 in Barishal division. Also read: 5 more die of Covid in Jashore; 62% infection rate Jashore's daily caseload hits new high of 469 Jashore, considered to be a high risk zone of Covid-19 spread, reported a record 469 new infections on Saturday. The new cases were detected from 940 sample tests, said Jashore Science and Technology University’s Covid-19 testing team member assistant professor Dr Shirin Nigar. The positivity rate is a fraction under 50% - which is extremely high. The WHO advises a positivity rate of 5% for two weeks as a safe level. The fresh cases raised the district’s total caseload to 11,187. Also, five more people died of Covid-19 in the district pushing the death toll to 129.

More than 140 million people have been  infected with  Covid-19 worldwide with over 3 million fatalities on Sunday, showing a shattering situation of the pandemic.      The total case count from the virus has reached 140,433,831 while the death toll  mounted to 3,008,964 as of Sunday morning, according to the data compiled by Johns Hopkins University (JHU).   The number of lives lost, as compiled by Johns Hopkins University, is about equal to the population of Kyiv, Ukraine; Caracas, Venezuela; or metropolitan Lisbon, Portugal. It is bigger than Chicago (2.7 million) and equivalent to Philadelphia and Dallas combined, reports AP.   And the true number is believed to be significantly higher because of possible government concealment and the many cases overlooked in the early stages of the outbreak that began in Wuhan, China, at the end of 2019.   When the world back in January passed the bleak threshold of 2 million deaths, immunization drives had just started in Europe and the United States. Today, they are underway in more than 190 countries, though progress in bringing the virus under control varies widely.   The US which remains the world’s worst hit country in number of cases and death has logged 31,627,701 cases and 566,893 deaths respectively.   Still, deaths in the U.S. are down to about 700 per day on average, plummeting from a mid-January peak of about 3,400, reports AP. Also read: Global Covid death toll nears 3 million   Brazil's COVID-19 death toll on Saturday reached 371,678 after registering another 2,929 fatalities, the country's ministry of health reported.   According to the ministry, another 67,636 cases were registered, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 13,900,091.   Since the beginning of this year, the country has been facing a second wave of the virus, which has resulted in the collapse of a large part of its healthcare system.   Also read: Global Covid-19 cases top 134.5 million In India, the Covid-19 situation has reached at dire state following the spike in Covid-19 cases as the country has been continuing to register over 2 lakh Covid-19 cases for the last couple of days.   So far, India has registered 14,526,609 cases and 175, 649 deaths.   Situation in Bangladesh   Bangladesh registered a single-day death of 101 from Covid-19 for the second consecutive day in the past 24 hours until Saturday, pushing up the total fatalities to 10,283.   The country shattered its previous all records of single-day death count with 101 fatalities on Friday.   However, 3,473 new cases were detected during the period as the number of tests declined significantly in the last 5-6 days. Only 16, 185 samples were tested during the period.   Bangladesh reported its first coronavirus cases on March 8 last year and the first death on the 18th of that month.  

The 35 kilometre stretch between Faridpur Sadar and Kamarkhali Bridge in Madhukhali on the Dhaka-Khulna highway has become a virtual death trap for commuters. In the past 13 months, at least 30 people have reportedly died in different road accidents on the high-speed corridor. Apart from claiming lives, road crashes on the stretch have caused permanent disabilities in hundreds of victims. Also read: 8 killed in separate road crashes in Faridpur 2 Shares What's worrying is that accidents and fatalities are on the rise on the stretch despite the local police setting up a number of check posts in accident-prone areas to curb speeding. On March 21 this year, as many as nine people, including six members of a family, were killed in a collision between a microbus and a truck at Majhkandi on the Dhaka-Khulna highway. All the victims were from Jhenaidah district. On January 6, 2020, six people, including four members of a family, lost their lives on the same highway when a bus rammed a microbus at high speed. Read 17 killed Rajshahi road accident Cops attribute the rise in the number of accidents on the highway to speeding as well as careless and negligent driving. Superintendent of Faridpur Highway Police, Mostafizur Rahman, told UNB that a number of check posts have been set up on the highway. "But nothing seems to be working." "Despite accidents on the highway stretch claiming a number of lives every year, there's no end to motorists' fetish for speed," he added. Also read: Bangladesh's roads remain perilous; 37,170 killed in 5 years Advocate Shipra Goswami, however, said that "stricter enforcement of law is the need of the hour". "Those involved in reckless driving should be brought to book." Mohammad Kabirul Islam Siddique, president of Faridpur Press Club, agreed. “Police must strictly enforce traffic rules to curb speeding and accidents on the highway. At the same time, motorists should adhere to speed limits," he said. Shahrier Rumi, executive engineer of Faridpur Roads and Highways Department, also urged motorists and other occupants of vehicles to stay alert while using the highway. The highway also known as N7 connects the Daulatdia Ferry Terminal on the south bank of the Padma River near Dhaka with the Port of Mongla in Bagerhat district. It serves some of the largest cities and towns in southwestern Bangladesh, including Faridpur, Magura, Jhenaidah, Jessore, and Khulna. Also read: 3 dead in Jashore, Panchagarh road accidents