Nine more Covid-related deaths were reported at Kushtia General Hospital in the past 24 hours, officials said on Tuesday morning. Of the deceased, eight had tested positive for Covid while remaining one showed symptoms of the virus, said statistics officer of Kushtia General Hospital, Md Mejbaul Alam. Read: Covid-19: 15 more die in Kushtia Besides, 166 people have tested positive for Covid in the district in the past 24 hours. "Some 572 samples were tested during the period," he said. The positivity rate rose to 29.02% from Monday’s 27.59%, while the WHO recommends a positivity rate of below 5% . A total of 199 people with Covid symptoms are currently undergoing treatment at the leading medical facility, officials said. Read: Covid claims lives of 12 people in Kushtia in 24 hrs So far, 16,115 people have been infected with the virus in the district, while the death toll reached 640. On the other hand, 12,424 people have recovered from Covid to date.

The dengue situation in Bangladesh might worsen further in the coming days devastating the country’s fragile healthcare system already battered by the Covid-19 pandemic, said experts. Bangladesh started seeing an uptrend in dengue cases from June with the advent of monsoon. Since August 1, the country has been seeing over 200 dengue cases every day. Read: Risk of dengue outbreak rises amid lockdown DGHS spokesperson Prof Nazmul Islam told UNB that there is a possibility that the number of dengue cases will rise further in August due to suitable breeding conditions. “Aedes mosquito breeding increases in stagnant water due to heavy rains in August,” he said. Some 2,286 dengue cases were reported in the month of July alone, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). The outbreak of dengue fever with over 100 dengue patients reported daily for more than a week has sparked new worries as the country’s healthcare system is facing an unprecedented situation with rising Covid patients and limited capacities. Just like the Covid-19 pandemic, Dhaka is the worst hit by the dengue outbreak as almost all the cases were recorded in the capital, a home to about 17 million people. Of the new dengue cases reported on Saturday, 194 were reported in Dhaka while only two from outside the capital, the DGHS said.   According to the (DGHS), 777 patients are currently receiving treatment at different hospitals across the country. The majority of the dengue patients are from Dhaka as only 30 of them were being treated in hospitals outside the capital.   Some 2,658 patients have been admitted to different hospitals with dengue since January and 1,877 of them have been released after they recovered. Read: Dengue spike: 123 more patients admitted to hospital in 24 hrs Doctors are advising the patients who have been suffering from fever to undergo both Covid and dengue tests, creating financial burden and sufferings for many. According to official statistics, 101,354 dengue cases and 179 deaths were recorded in Bangladesh in 2019, the worst the country has ever experienced. About 50,974 people were infected with dengue in August 2019 though only 50,166 dengue cases were recorded in the previous 18 years from 2000 to 2018. If the similar scenario repeats, the health system, which is already on the brink, might completely collapse and create a catastrophic situation in the country in addition to the Covid-19 pandemic, experts warned.  Prime Minister's personal physician Prof Dr ABM Abdullah told UNB that dengue cases may increase further in the future.  “The breeding season of Aedes mosquitoes begins in May and continues under winter. So, there must be measures to control the outbreak before the Dengue season begins,” he said, adding that mosquito control is not the sole responsibility of the two city corporations. He urged other government agencies, including Wasa and PWD, to put their best foot forward as soon as possible over the matter. “Destroying Aedes breeding grounds isn’t a tough task. If everyone, including the citizens, regularly cleanse stagnant water from residential premises and the service providers do their duty, we don't need to worry about an outbreak,” Abdullah added.    Read: Dengue vs. COVID-19: Symptoms, when & where to test, ways of prevention Besides, Prof Nazmul of the DGHS said they are currently in the middle of conducting a 10-day survey to have a clear idea about the overall dengue situation in the country.   The DGHS will take further actions to control dengue outbreak after understanding the ground situation upon completion of the survey, he said. He added that citizens can undergo free dengue tests at government hospitals and there are adequate kits available for this purpose.  Nazmul recommended using mosquito nets even for sleeping in the morning as it is when aedes mosquitoes mainly bite.   “If someone has a fever, they should be tested immediately for dengue and corona. And in the case of taking treatment, the medicine must be taken as per the advice of a registered doctor. If necessary, take treatment by contacting the hot line or health window of the health department,” Prof Nazmul added.   Contacted, Local Government Minister Tajul Islam said many city dwellers are still reluctant about destroying the Aedes breeding sources despite conducting mobile courts regularly. Tajul Islam warned of stringent punitive action if Aedes larva is found on residential premises. “Anti-mosquito drives and cleansing activities of the two city corporations have already been strengthened in Covid hotspots,” he added. Besides, the mosquito eradication teams would immediately reach out if residents need help in cleaning stagnant water or other breeding gounds, he added. DNCC Mayor Atiqul Islam told UNB that a 10-day mosquito eradication campaign was carried out simultaneously in 54 wards of Dhaka North from July 26.  He said citizens can reach out to them anytime through ‘Shobar Dhaka’ (Everyone’s Dhaka) mobile app, emergency number 333 and DNC hotlines 09602222333 and 09602222334. Dhaka South City Corporation (DSCC) mayor Sheikh Fazle Noor Taposh urged the city dwellers to inform municipality authorities about Aedes larvae so that they can take necessary steps to clean that. “We cannot reach the rooftops of your (city dwellers) buildings. So, if you (residents) watch stagnant water, either clean it by yourselves or inform us and we will clean it.” He went on saying, “Inform us if you know the breeding sources of Aedes mosquitoes in your surroundings as it is impossible for us to locate and destroy them all by going home to home.”  Dengue fever was first reported in Bangladesh in 2000, claiming 93 lives that year. In the years that followed, the country learned to deal with the disease much better.   The fatalities had almost fallen to zero at one stage, before surging again in 2018, leading to the severe outbreak the following year. Global burden of dengue The incidence of dengue has grown dramatically around the world in recent decades. A vast majority of cases are asymptomatic or mild and self-managed, and hence the actual numbers of dengue cases are under-reported, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).   The number of dengue cases reported to WHO increased over 8 folds over the last two decades, from 505,430 cases in 2000, to over 2.4 million in 2010, and 4.2 million in 2019. The reported deaths between the year 2000 and 2015 increased from 960 to 4032.    Read: Australian scientists make breakthrough on preventing spread . of dengue fever Before 1970, only nine countries had experienced a severe dengue epidemic. The disease is now pandemic in more than 100 countries in the WHO regions of Africa, America, the Eastern Mediterranean, South-East Asia and the Western Pacific.   The America, South-East Asia and Western Pacific regions are the most seriously affected, with Asia representing - 70% of the global burden of disease.   The largest number of dengue cases ever reported globally was in 2019. All the regions were affected, and dengue transmission was recorded in Afghanistan for the first time.

Elderly people, aged 60 years or above, make up around 7.5% of Bangladesh’s total population, but they account for around 80 percent of Covid fatalities due to comorbidities and weakened immune systems, say health experts. As the government is set to embark on a special drive to vaccinate one core people in a week from August 7, they said a strategy should be there to immunise the senior citizens on the top priority basis to reduce the growing Covid death rate in the country. The analysts also said community engagement and mobile vaccination teams are crucial to ensure the vaccines for elderly people, especially in rural areas, as they are less aware of the vaccines while many of them are sick and unable to go to the vaccination centres. Read: Covid fatality rate 90% among elderly villagers, says health minister Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Sunday said one crore doses of Covid-19 vaccines will be administered among people in a festive mood across the country on August 7-14. Low infection high mortality Talking to UNB, Robed Amin, spokesman of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), said the percentage of people aged over 60 infected with the coronavirus is relatively low, but the mortality rate in this group is very high as they suffer from various critical diseases. He said the senior citizens are mostly getting infected by young people while 80% of them are dying from the virus infection. “As per our data, around 80% of Covid deaths in our country are among people in their 60s or older.” Read COVID-19 Delta variant explained: Things to know about this Coronavirus strain Prof AKM Nurun Nabi, founder Chairman of Dhaka University’s Population Sciences department, said elderly people aged 60 years and above constitute around 7.5% (12.5 million) of the country’s total population. “Elderly people are usually vulnerable to any disease as they lose their resistance power and suffer from various chronic and critical diseases. So, the mortality rate of aged Covid-19 patients is very high all over the world."

Thirteen more people have died of Covid-19 at Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital (RMCH) in the past 24 hours, officials said on Saturday morning. Of them, five were Covid-19 positive patients while eight died with symptoms of the virus. Read: 20 more die of Covid at Rajshahi hospital Hospital director Brigadier General Shamim Yazdani saidof the deceased, five were from Pabna, three  each from Rajshahi and Naogaon, one  each from Chapainawabganj and Natore districts. In July,  566 patients have died at the Covid ward of the hospital  while the number was 405 in June. Of the deceased, 184 were confirmed Covid patients while 344 died with symptoms and 38 with post-Covid complications. In the past 24 hours, 48 new patients have been admitted to the Covid-19 ward of the hospital and 32 discharged after recovery. Some 433 patients are undergoing treatment at the 513-bed hospital. Of them, 19 are being treated at the ICU, said the hospital director. Read: 11 more die of Covid at Rajshahi hospital Of the admitted patients, some 188 have tested positive for Covid-19, while 178 have symptoms and 67 have post-Covid health complications.

Cumilla on Tuesday reported its highest single-day spike of 836 new Covid cases, while the district's corona death toll rose to 672 with 10 fresh deaths in 24 hours. "Of the latest deaths, six were men and four women. They were aged between 35 and 80 years," District Civil Surgeon Dr Mir Mobarak Hossain told UNB. Read: Covid: Cumilla sees 5 deaths, 92 new cases in 24 hours On the other hand, the new cases have pushed up the district's Covid tally to 24,665. The fresh cases have taken the positivity rate to 36.6% when the WHO recommends below 5% for an area. 

Although the country saw well below 200 fatalities for three consecutive days as of Friday, it came close to the grim landmark again as 195 people died of Covid-19 in 24 hours till Saturday morning. Bangladesh recorded 6,780 new cases of infections during the period after testing 20,827 samples. With Covid's Delta variant spreading fast, the country's fatalities had been hovering at nearly 200 for the last two weeks. It reported the highest daily Covid-19 fatality number – 231 – on July 19 and 13,768 infections on the 12th of the month. Read: Covid-19: Bangladesh reports 13 more deaths, 438 fresh cases There have been 1,153,344 infections and 19,046 coronavirus deaths here since the pandemic started, according to a handout issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). Meanwhile, the daily test positivity rate increased to 32.55 %  from Saturday’s 31.05% , when the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a 5% or below rate. The death rate  increased to 1.65%  after remaining static at 1.64%for some days. The recovery rate rose to 85.62% with 9,723 patients recovering during the 24- hour period. Read: Covid refuses to slow down in Bangladesh; 199 more die As usual, Dhaka division recorded  the highest 68 deaths followed by  41 in Khulna, 36 in Chattogram, 18 in Rajshahi, 16 in Rangpur, 10 in Mymensingh, five in Barishal and one in Sylhet divisions. Of them, 103 were men and 92 were women. As per their age breakdown, one was under 10, two were between 11-20, 16 between 31-40, 31 between 41-50, 45 between 51-60 and 100 were above 60,  the release added.

Marking another grim Eid under the shadow of a pandemic and amid growing concerns about the highly infectious delta variant, Bangladesh saw 173 more Covid-19 deaths Wednesday.   Also, Covid-19 infections in the country have reached 97% of the peak, with 11,533 new cases reported on average each day. The highest daily average was recorded on July 15. Read:Covid refuses to slow down in Bangladesh; 199 more die Bangladesh recorded 7,614 new infections in 24 hours till Wednesday morning after testing 24,979 samples – 14,531 fewer compared to yesterday. The country reported its highest daily Covid-19 fatality number – 231 – on July 19 and 13,768 infections on the 12th of the month. Wednesday's death counts and cases are the lowest in 14 days and 18 days. However, Bangladesh is in the grip of a second wave of the virus that is threatening to overwhelm its health service. There have been 1,136,503 infections and 18,498 coronavirus-related deaths here since the pandemic began, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). Meanwhile, the daily test positivity rate rose to 30.48% from Tuesday's 29.31% when the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends a 5% or below rate. As the death rate stood at 1.63%, Dhaka division reported the highest 58 deaths, Khulna 38, Chattogram 32, Rangpur 16, Rajshahi 11, Barishal eight, Sylhet six, and Mymensingh four. However, the recovery rate increased to 84.56%. So far, Bangladesh has administered at least 11,341,291 doses of Covid vaccines – enough to have vaccinated around 3.1% of the country's population, assuming every person needs two doses. The government allowed an eight-day pause in the nationwide strict lockdown for Eid-ul-Azha despite fears that crowding at shopping centres, cattle markets, and big gatherings could become super-spreader events. The country imposed its toughest lockdown at the start of July. Under the lockdown, people were only allowed to leave home to buy essentials and for emergencies. However, with the recent removal of the curbs ahead of Eid celebrations, people were seen breaking Covid-19 rules while they were on the streets and in the markets and malls. Uncontrolled movement of people and rampant breaches of health rules before and after Eid could make things worse because of the fallout from the lockdown pause. At least 26.2 lakh subscribers of the four telecom operators left Dhaka in three days starting July 15 to celebrate Eid, according to Post and Telecommunication Minister Mustafa Jabbar. With Covid's Delta variant spreading fast, the country's fatalities have been hovering at approximately 200 for the last two weeks. July looks to be the most devastating month since Bangladesh saw its fast Covid cases in March 2020, with around 4,000 deaths so far. Earlier, it recorded 2,404 Covid deaths in April, 1,169 in May and 1,884 in June.   The WHO has reported that globally, Covid-19 cases and deaths had soared after periods of decline, with the reversal spurred in part by the delta variant. Read: Covid-19 death toll in Bangladesh crosses 12,000