The global Covid-19 caseload has now surpassed 203 million, as the ferocious second wave of the corona pandemic continues to wreak havoc across the world amid mass inoculation efforts. The total caseload and fatalities stand at 203,351,847 and 4,302,493, respectively, as of Tuesday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU). Read: Global Covid cases return to mid-May levels So far, 4,447,184,520 vaccine doses have been administered across the globe. The situation in North America has worsened noticeably in the past weeks. The US, which is the world's worst-hit country in terms of both cases and deaths, has so far logged 35,947,913 cases. Besides, 617,318 people have lost their lives in the US to date, as per the JHU data. Brazil has registered 411 more Covid-19 deaths in the past 24 hours, raising its national death toll to 563,562, the health ministry said on Monday. Meanwhile, the total caseload rose to 20,177,757 after 12,085 new cases were detected during the period. 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 31,969,954 on Monday as 35,499 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, according to the federal health ministry. Besides, as many as 447 deaths due to the pandemic were reported since Sunday morning, taking the total death toll to 428,309. Read: Covid vaccine: Temporary waiver sought on TRIPS The number of Covid-19 cases confirmed worldwide in the past seven days increased to 4.3 million from 4.1 million of the previous week. The global case count rose to levels observed in mid-May 2021.  However, the geography of the disease differs. This spring, South America accounted for the majority of all cases. Now, North America and several Asian nations are bearing the brunt. At the same time, Europe managed to contain the Covid-19 outbreak. Mortality in Europe remains at a minimal level despite a new wave of the pandemic. Situation in Bangladesh Teetering on the edge of a brutal Covid-19 infection wave, Bangladesh reported 245 more deaths and 11,463 new cases in 24 hours till Monday morning. The new numbers again raised the case fatality rate to 1.68% from Sunday’s 1.67%, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). With the fresh deaths, the country’s total death tally reached 22,897 while the total cases mounted to 1,365,158. The new cases were detected after the test of 47,207 samples, slightly lowering the case positivity rate to 24.28% from Sunday’s 24.52%, the DGHS said. Read: Shattered by Covid, Bangladesh now awaits a dengue blow Overwhelmed by the Delta variant of Covid surge, Bangladesh has been seeing around 250 deaths and 13,000 cases daily on an average for a week. Besides, the recovery rate rose to 89.36% in Bangladesh from Sunday’s 89.05% with 14,412 new patients recovering from Covid during this time.

The overall number of global Covid cases is fast approaching 198 million, as the world continues to battle against the devastating second wave of the pandemic. Although the situation in Europe is improving, globally it is worsening as the Delta variant of Covid-19 has now been detected in 124 territories worldwide, says the World Health Organization (WHO). According to the US-based Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 197,767, 859 while the death toll from the virus reached 4,215,888 on Sunday morning. Read: Global Covid cases top 197mn as Delta variant presents new challenges So far, 4,078,901,841 vaccine doses have been administered across the world. The US, which is the world's worst-hit country in terms of both cases and deaths, has so far logged 34,975,540 cases. Besides, 613,135 people have lost their lives in the US to date, as per the JHU data. Brazil registered 910 more Covid-19 deaths in the past 24 hours, raising its national death toll to 556,370, the health ministry said on Saturday. Meanwhile, the total caseload rose to 19,917,855 after 37,582 new cases were detected. India's Covid-19 tally rose to 31,613,993 on Saturday as 41,649 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, showed the federal health ministry's latest data. Besides, as many as 593 deaths due to the pandemic since Friday morning took the total death toll to 423,810.    Situation in Bangladesh As health authorities scramble to prevent the spread of the Delta variant, Bangladesh added 218 fatalities to its national tally on Saturday. The country registered over 200 single-day fatalities for the last six days as it is fighting a horrific wave of the pandemic that overwhelmed its healthcare systems. Read: Covid kills 218 more in Bangladesh as its catastrophe continues The country recorded 9,369 new cases on Saturday after testing 30,980 samples, and reported the highest daily Covid-19 fatality number – 258 – on July 27 and 16,230 infections the next day, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). There have been 1,249,484 positive cases and 20,685 coronavirus-related deaths here since the pandemic began, the DGHS said. Astrazeneca’s fresh rollout On a positive note, Bangladesh will resume vaccination with Astrazeneca shots within the next few days, said Health Minister Zahid Maleque. “We’ll resume vaccination with Astrazeneca jabs within the next 2-1 days. Those who failed to take the second dose after getting the first one will be able to get it now,” he said. He said the government has an overall stock of 2 crore 60 lakh vaccine doses now. Foreign Minister Dr AK Abdul Momen and Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Saturday received the second consignment of AstraZeneca vaccine doses from Japan under the COVAX facility. Read: Covid-19: What life is like when hospitals refuse admission! The second consignment contains 7,81,320 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine. A cargo flight of Cathay Pacific that carried the vaccine doses from Japan landed at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 3:15 pm. The third consignment that will contain 6,16,780 doses of the vaccine is scheduled to arrive here on August 3.

The second wave of the Covid pandemic continues its onslaught across the world amid speeding inoculation efforts. In fact, the global corona caseload has now topped 185 million. The total caseload and fatalities from the virus stand at 185,489,255 and 4,009,084, respectively, as of Friday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU). So far, 3,351,337,474 Covid vaccine doses have been administered across the globe, as per the university data. Also read: As global COVID-19 deaths top 4 million, a suicide in Peru The US has logged 33,790, 114 cases and 606,468 deaths to date, according to the university data. The death toll in the United States is the highest in the world. Brazil registered 1,733 more deaths from Covid-19 in 24 hours, bringing the national death tally to 530,344, the health ministry said Thursday. A total of 53,749 new infections were detected during the period, raising the total caseload to 18,962,786, the ministry said. India's Covid-19 tally rose to 30,743,013 on Thursday as 34,443 new cases were registered in 24 hours across the country, according to the federal health ministry. Also read: India’s Bharat Biotech says vaccine 93.4% effective against severe COVID-19 Besides, 470 deaths due to the pandemic since Wednesday morning pushed up the total death toll to 405,527. Covid-19 was first detected in the city of Wuhan, China, in late 2019, but the outbreak spread quickly across the globe in the first two-three months of 2020. It was declared a global pandemic by the WHO on 11 March 2020. Situation in Bangladesh As coronavirus is spreading in Bangladesh faster than ever, the country logged record-high 11,651 cases and 199 deaths in 24 hours till Thursday morning. The grim number of cases came after the test of 36,850 samples during the period, which puts the country’s case positivity rate at 31.62%, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). The new numbers took the country’s death toll to 15,792, while the caseload stood at 989,219. Just a day before, the country counted the highest-ever 201 deaths from Covid-19, and record-high 11,525 cases on Tuesday. Also read: Dhaka reemerging as Covid hotspot as battle plan ‘fails’: Experts The country’s fatality rate remained static at 1.60% till Wednesday, said the DGHS. So far, 856, 346 people have recovered from Covid, putting the recovery rate at 86.57%, which is declining unlike other indicators.

The district on Friday reported 89 more Covid cases in 24 hours, as authorities struggle to contain the second wave of the pandemic. Officials said the fresh coronavirus cases were detected after testing 179 samples. With the new cases, the district’s positivity rate has now risen to 49%. Read:In Bagerhat, test for Covid-19 at home Besides, 63 people have died of Covid in the district to date, said civil surgeon Dr KM Humayun Kabir. According to the district’s health department, Bagerhat’s Covid caseload currently stand at 2,479, while 1,665 people have recovered from the infection to date. Read: 2 poachers held with venison, legs in Bagerhat To stem the spread of coronavirus, local authorities have extended the ongoing lockdown in the Mongla municipal area of the district by another week.

The country fought the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic “courageously” and it would be “victorious” in its ongoing fight against the virus during the second wave, PM Narendra Modi said on Sunday. “In the form of the corona pandemic, we are being continuously put to test. This is a crisis that has plagued the whole world, so many people have lost their loved ones. Even big countries were not spared from its devastation,” Modi said in his monthly radio programme ‘Mann ki Baat’ reports The Times of India. He emphasized that no matter how big the challenge, the country’s ‘vijay sankalp’ (resolve to be victorious) had always been equal to the challenge. “Our collective strength and our spirit of service has always rescued the country from the midst of every storm,” he said. Also read: India's COVID-19 tally crosses 28 million as daily cases fall During the programmed, he spoke to three people involved with transporting oxygen cylinders and containers through rail, road and airways, and listened to their experience and challenges during the recent crisis when many parts of the country faced severe shortage of medical-grade oxygen. He also pointed to the government completing seven years in office and highlighted signature initiatives, including power connections to all households and the Jal Jeevan mission to provide tap water to all rural homes. “In the midst of this pandemic, India is moving forward with the resolve of service and cooperation,” he added. Modi pointed to the scheme to provide tap water connection to every rural household in the country by 2024 under Jal Jeevan Mission and said it had made strong progress without any break during the pandemic. “In the seven decades after independence, only 3.5 crore rural homes of our country had water connections. However, in the last 21 months, 4.5 crore houses have been given clean water connections. Of these, 15 months were of the corona period,” he added. Also read: Vaccine inequality in India sends many falling through gaps The PM also noted the contribution of farmers and the agriculture sector during the pandemic. “The agricultural sector protected itself from this attack to a great extent. Not only did it keep itself safe, but the sector also progressed, moving forward. Farmers produced record output and this time, the country went on to procure record amounts of crops. This time, in many places, farmers have got more than the minimum support price for mustard,” he said. Noting that India was able to provide support to every citizen due to record food grain production, he said, “Today, 800 million underprivileged citizens are being provided free ration in this hour of crisis. So, no such day ever occurs in a needy home when the stove is not lit.”

The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) on Sunday urged the Eid holidaymakers to return to the capital after 7-14 days if they do not have any urgency as there is a need to check mass gatherings. Speaking at a virtual press briefing, DGHS spokesperson Dr Nazmul Islam also issued a warning that there is no room for complacency in the declining trend in infection rate since Bangladesh is still in the middle of the second wave of Covid-19. “The government advised us not to leave our respective dwellings (in cities) and stay there during this Eid. But we’ve seen, a large number of people went back to their village homes in various ways ignoring the advice,” he said. Also read: Mad rush of homebound people at Paturia terminal Dr Nazmul said, “We humbly request those who’ve gone home to return at least 7-14 days later if their offices are not yet reopened and if they don’t face any losses for being late.” Besides, he said, those who have Covid symptoms must undergo RT-PCR tests at the nearest health complexes or district sadar, specialised or medical college hospitals. The DGHS official said they also must maintain cent percent health safety rules during their way back to the capital.  He said the government is sending them to institutional quarantine those who are returning from India through different land ports. “We’re getting help from law enforcers and local administrations in this regard. Even though, we’ve seen many of the returnee patients and their attendants are trying to either flee the institutional quarantines or evade the quarantines to rush back to their homes. It’s not logical behaviour as if anyone flees quarantines with the Indian variant as it may harm the entire nation.” Nazmul said those returning from India should not avoid the institutional quarantine breaking the law. “Don't risk the lives of others by doing so. We should not harm our country knowingly.” Replying to a question, he said, “We’re regularly checking those returnees who have symptoms…We’ve identified the Indian variant through the genome sequencing of the positive samples of the returnees. Those identified with the Indian variant, we kept them in quarantine strictly and allowed them to return home after they have recovered.” Nazmul said six people have so far been identified with the Indian variant and five of them have already recovered fully from the virus. “We didn’t find any infected patients in those who came in contact with the positive cases.” Also read: Homebound people flock at launch and bus terminals dreading ‘lockdown’ The DGHS spokesman said the lowest number of patients was detected on Saturday as the sample collection was low. “We think it may happen due to the Eid holidays. We’ve no reason to be complacent about such a small number of infections. We’ll be able to heave a sigh of relief if we see such a small number of cases day after day continuously. Unless it happens, we’ve to keep it in mind that we’re still in the middle of the second wave. We’ve not yet gotten rid of the second wave. So, we all should remain alert.” He said genome sequencing tests are being carried out at 20-26 laboratories every day to know the prevalence of different Covid variants in the country.     Nazmul said it is now important to conduct tests as much as possible and encourage people to go under the Covid tests. “The more tests we can conduct, the more cases will be detected. The more cases we can identify, the more we’ll have the opportunity to do genome sequencing. It’ll help us to know the existence of new variants and work out what is necessary to do.” He said the infection rate was between 10-8 percent over the last week though it was very low on Saturday. “So, we’ve no reason to be very satisfied.” Only 261 Covid cases were reported on Saturday after examining 3,758 samples. Nazmul said when the total number of Covid patients was 21, 629 in January, it increased to 1,30,957 in April. “A total of 20,664 cases have been detected over the last 15 days. Still, 15 days are left of this month. So, we must maintain the highest level of caution.” He said there are adequate oxygen cylinders, high-flow nasal cannula and oxygen concentrators in hospitals across the country. “As per the statistics we’ve now, there’re more empty beds than the admitted patients.” In Dhaka city, Nazmul said there are 3,440 beds in government hospitals and 2,785 of them now remain empty. Besides, he said, 1,663 out of 1801 beds in private hospitals are now available for Covid patients. “The same way, isolation beds are also empty. “But if we don’t change our behaviour and ignore the health safety rules, we may see the opposite scenario.”

Bangladesh on Monday reported 97 more coronavirus-related deaths and 3,306 new cases as the country grapples with a second and deadlier wave of the virus. The daily infection rate dropped to 12.82 percent from Monday’s 13.33 percent but the mortality rate rose to 1.49 percent. So far 748,628 cases and 11,150 deaths have been confirmed, the Directorate General of Health Services said in a handout. The number of recoveries now stands at 661,693 including 4,241 new cases. This means, 88.39 percent of the patients have recovered. Also read: Lockdown to be extended up to May 5: State Minister Bangladesh has so far tested 5,371,287 samples, including 25,786 in the last 24 hours. Bangladesh reported its first coronavirus cases on March 8 last year and the first death on the 18th of that month. Deaths, cases soar in April In the last 26 days, Bangladesh has seen 2,104 Coronavirus-related deaths and 133,851 new cases, making it the most fatal month since the outbreak began last year. The virus claimed 568 lives in January this year, 281 in February and 638 in March. Dhaka division remains the worst-hit region, registering most of the deaths – 6,514 or 58.42 percent. Sixty-three of the 97 deaths reported today are from Dhaka division and 12 from Chattogram division. Six each died in Khulna, Sylhet, four in Rajshahi, three in Barishal, two in Rangpur and one in Mymensingh divisions. Lockdown extended The surge in Covid infections prompted the government to go for a lockdown from early April. Having failed to achieve the intended result, it imposed a strict lockdown from April 11 and extended it to April 28. On Monday, State Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain said the government would extend the lockdown till May 5, as there is no improvement of the Covid-19 situation However, shopping malls will remain open from 10am to 8pm during the extended period, he said.  Bangladesh shuts border with India Bangladesh has closed its border with India for any kind of movement except that of cargoes for the next 14 days from Monday as the coronavirus situation in the neighbouring country goes out of control. Recorded number of daily cases put unprecedented pressure on the hospitals and drained the oxygen supply, leading to many preventable deaths. Also read: Global Covid crisis: Hasina recommends measures for ESCAP to attain quick recovery Vaccination campaign Bangladesh launched a vaccination drive on February 7 with Oxford-AstraZeneca doses it purchased from the Serum Institute of India Pvt Ltd. 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. The administering of the first dose will remain suspended from today. DGHS DG Prof ABM Khurshid Alam assured that Bangladesh will get 2.1 million doses of vaccine by the first week of May. So far, 5,818,400 people have received the first dose and 2,326,866 have got their second jab, according to official figures.