Bangladesh reported one more COVID-19-linked death and 30 fresh cases in 24 hours till Monday (January 22, 2024) morning. With the new numbers, the country's total fatalities rose to 29,481 and caseload to 2,046,788, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). The daily case test positivity rate stood at 5.14 per cent as 584 samples were tested, said the DGHS. Read more: COVID-19: New variant 'JN.1' detected in Bangladesh The recovery and death rates remained unchanged at 98.41 per cent and 1.44 per cent, respectively. Earlier on Thursday, Professor Tahmina Shireen, director of the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), said they found a new variant of the coronavirus, 'JN.1' in test samples of five patients. Read more: Bangladesh among 5 countries selected for project to strengthen preparedness to COVID-19, other infectious diseases

The Environmental Interventions Unit of icddr,b and the Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) Wednesday launched an initiative to undertake environmental surveillance of Covid-19 and enteric pathogens in Dhaka and the Rohingya camps. Under the initiative, wastewater samples will be collected from selected spots comprised of drains, canals, and pumping stations in selected areas of Dhaka city and the Rohingya camps to track and monitor four vaccine-preventable pathogens including Salmonella typhi, Vibrio cholerae, Rotavirus of enteric pathogen and Covid in the communities. The benefit of environmental surveillance is multifaceted – it is highly cost-effective and supplementary to the clinical surveillance system, it provides early warnings, and the data generated are free from bias by healthcare access or healthcare behaviour. Also, it is effective in both symptomatic and asymptomatic infections, and evidence from environmental surveillance can be helpful for planning public health emergency responses – including in health communications, health facility preparedness, and vaccination campaigns. Environmental surveillance relies on wastewater samples, and helps track pathogens in circulation in the population, including their presence or absence, trends in concentrations, and generates an early warning, among others. A few low- and middle-income countries, including Pakistan and India, have deployed environmental surveillance for different diseases and successfully detected silent outbreaks – meaning a disease that otherwise would have gone unnoticed. The environmental surveillance initiative in Bangladesh will be implemented in cooperation with the Dhaka North City Corporation, Dhaka South City Corporation, Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority in Dhaka, the Department of Public Health Engineering, Refugee, Relief and Repatriation Commissioner, and Cox's Bazar Civil Surgeon Office.

Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister Md Shahab Uddin has tested positive for Covid-19. This is the second time that he has contracted the virus, earlier was in August 2020. The minister underwent RT-PCR test at the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) on Wednesday as he had symptoms of the virus. The test result emerged positive, his Ministry said in a statement. Read: State Minister Khalid, wife contract Covid The minister is in isolation at his official residence, the Ministry said. The Environment Minister was admitted to Combined Military Hospital (CMH) from August 12-20 in 2020 with Covid.

Bangladesh on Saturday reported the first two cases of Omicron variant of coronavirus, raising alarm because of its sheer number of mutations, more than what prior variants had. “These two infected female patients (cricketers) returned from Zimbabwe recently,” ASM Alamgir, chief scientific officer of the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), told UNB.He said the Omicron patients are members of the Bangladesh Women's Cricket Team and they do not have any severe symptoms.However, the two female members of the cricket team have been kept in a hotel for isolation, he added.The two cricketers tested positive for Covid-19 on December 6. READ: Companies rethink return-to-office plans amid omicron casesThe women's team recently returned home from Zimbabwe after confirming their participation in the next 50-over World Cup, which will be Bangladesh’s maiden World Cup appearance as well. Meanwhile, Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Saturday said samples of other members of the women’s team are being tested to confirm whether there are more cases of Omicron Covid-19 variant. The minister said, “We’re alert about the new strain of Covid-19. All the overseas returnees will be kept in quarantine,” he said at the inauguration programme of vitamin A campaign at Dhaka Shishu (Children) Hospital. On December 9, the World Health Organization (WHO) said the omicron coronavirus variant is now present in 57 countries and asked all countries to stay alert about the new variant. A WHO panel named the Coronavirus variant ‘Omicron’ and classified it as a highly transmissible virus of concern, the same category that includes the predominant delta variant, which is still a scourge driving higher cases of sickness and death in Europe and parts of the USA. Quoting WHO, Minister Maleque, however, said the Covid-19 vaccines Bangladesh is administering are capable of preventing Omicron and urged all to get vaccinated. READ: Omicron not ‘less dangerous’; it’s matter of time for Bangladesh to get a case: Experts New Travel Rules On December 3, Bangladesh announced new travel rules, making a 14-day institutional quarantine mandatory for all travellers from seven African countries. The countries are Botswana, Eswatini, Ghana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe, the Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh said on Thursday in its updated travel restriction notification. The order will come into effect Saturday. According to the new travel rules in Bangladesh, all passengers from these seven African countries will need to stay at government-designated hotels at their own expense. On the seventh and 14th day of quarantine, they will have to undergo RT-PCR tests at their own expense, it said. If any passenger tests positive for Covid on the seventh day, they will be separated for further isolation, while Covid-negative travellers will continue their quarantine till the 14th day. Depending on the RT-PCR test results on the 14th day of their quarantine, Covid-negative passengers will be released. The passengers returning from these seven countries will need to show proof of hotel bookings in Bangladesh during check-in, said Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB). With changes to a previous guideline, incoming passengers from all other destinations, except children below 12 years, will need to mandatorily possess a Covid-negative certificate, with the test conducted within 48 hours of their flight departure, it said. The UK and other countries have imposed a travel ban on South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe and other countries as the new variant is more contagious than the Delta variant. Amid the growing concern over the new ‘Omicron’ variant of coronavirus, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) suggested the implementation of 15 instructions to prevent the spread of the new variant and urged all concerned to take measures to enforce the instructions.

Several national laws, such as the Pesticide Act 2018 and the City Corporation Act 2009, need to be revised to tackle the dengue menace, Manjur Ahmed Chowdhury, chairman of the Center of Governance Studies (CGS) and entomologist, said Saturday. International guidelines such as those provided by the international health regulations (IHR) and the World Health Organisation recommendations can be ratified in Bangladesh to expedite the fight against yearly dengue outbreaks, he said. Read: Dengue: 2 more die, 232 new patients hospitalized Also, he stressed the importance of a properly integrated vector management system in Bangladesh and the need for a proper institution to handle this. Manjur was addressing the seminar "Problems in Mosquito Control in the City: An Outline of Sustainable Solutions," hosted by the Center of Governance Studies (CGS) in the capital. This year's rise in dengue infections compared to 2020 happened due to the delay of taking proper preventive measures as soon as the rainy season started in Bangladesh, said Touhid Uddin Ahmed, a former principal scientific officer at the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR). As no work was done to identify hotspots of dengue infections, and to target adult Aedes mosquitoes, it contributed to the rapid spread of the dengue outbreak, he said. Read: Keep the dengue mementoes in city museum, demand Jurain residents in unique protest "Data shows alarming rates of increase in dengue infections in both the cities and rural areas of Bangladesh. The reason for this unchecked yearly rise in the dengue epidemic is due to the lack of a national goal set by the government; lack of policies related to mosquito control, guidance among the citizens to handle the epidemic, and a viable plan to deal with the vectors of transmission, namely adult Aedes mosquitoes," he added. Dr GM Saifur Rahman, a medical entomologist and a faculty member of the National University, said: "The life cycle of Aedes mosquitoes is around six to eight days. So a routine weekly cleaning regiment needs to be implemented nationwide to clear out water from places that gather water during rain." He also said dengue fever incubates inside the body for four to seven days before symptoms show, so one does not get sick immediately when mosquitoes bite them.

As many as 211 new dengue patients were admitted to different hospitals in 24 hours till Friday morning as dengue infection rate keeps rising in Bangladesh amid the worsening Covid-19 pandemic. Among the new patients, 210 were admitted to government and private hospitals across capital Dhaka. Read:Dengue spike in Bangladesh: 242 more hospitalized in 24 hrs So far, 24 suspected dengue deaths were reported to the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) but it is yet to confirm any death from dengue yet, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). Some 952 patients diagnosed with dengue are receiving treatment in the country as of Friday morning, according to the DGHS. Most of the cases have been reported in the capital so far, said the health authorities. Read:Uptrend in Dengue cases: 226 more hospitalized in 24 hrs Of them, 884 patients are receiving treatment at different hospitals in the capital while the rest were listed outside Dhaka. Bangladesh started seeing an uptrend in dengue cases from June. It started seeing over 200 Dengue cases every day since August 1. Read:Dengue spike: 213 more patients hospitalized in 24 hrs Some 5,645 patients have been admitted to different hospitals with dengue since January, and 4,669 of them have been released after they recovered from the disease. 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, but it did become endemic. Fatalities almost fell to zero at one stage, before spiking again in 2018, leading to the horrific crisis the following year.

A total of  242 new dengue patients have been admitted to different hospitals in 24 hours till Thursday morning amid a spike in the mosquito-borne disease that spreads mainly during monsoon. Twenty two suspected dengue deaths were reported to the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) but it is yet to confirm any death from dengue yet, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). Bangladesh started seeing an uptrend in dengue cases from June. It started seeing over 200 Dengue cases every day since August 1. READ: Uptrend in Dengue cases: 226 more hospitalized in 24 hrs Most of the cases have been reported in the capital so far, said the health authorities. Some 896 patients diagnosed with dengue are receiving treatment in the country as of Wednesday morning, according to DGHS. Of them, 824 patients are receiving treatment at different hospitals in the capital while the rest were listed outside Dhaka. Among the new patients,121 were admitted to the government and private hospitals across Dhaka. READ: Shattered by Covid, Bangladesh now awaits a dengue blow Some 5,434 patients have been admitted to different hospitals with dengue since January – 4,516 of them have been released after recovery. 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, but it did become endemic. Fatalities almost fell to zero at one stage, before spiking again in 2018, leading to the horrific crisis the following year.

As many as 224 new patients were hospitalized in 24 hours till Sunday morning amid a growing concern over a spike in dengue cases. Since August 1, the country has been seeing over 200 dengue cases every day adding worries to the already overburdened health sector with Covid-19 patients. Read: BGMEA issues guidelines on prevention of dengue, chikungunya Of the new dengue cases, 211 were reported in Dhaka while the remaining 13 from outside the division, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). According to the (DGHS), 946 patients are currently receiving treatment at different hospitals across the country. Of them, 900 patients were reported to be admitted to hospitals in Dhaka and the rests in other divisions. Some 4,543 patients have been admitted to different hospitals with dengue since January and 3,587 of them have been released after they recovered. So far, 10 suspected deaths caused by dengue were reported to the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) but none of them had been reviewed and confirmed yet, said the DGHS. Read:Dengue surge in Bangladesh: 204 more hospitalized in 24 hrs Dengue fever was first reported in Bangladesh in 2000, claiming 93 lives that year. In the year 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.

Amid an alarming surge in Covid-19 cases, there is a growing concern over the dengue situation in the country too. Health authorities on Thursday reported 25 new dengue cases in 24 hours. Some 412 dengue patients are currently undergoing treatment at different government and private hospitals in the country, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). Read: 75 more new cases reported amid Dengue surge Of them, 409 patients are receiving treatment at different hospitals in the capital and eight others outside Dhaka. So far, information about three suspected dengue deaths have been sent to the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control And Research (IEDCR), the DGHS said. Some 1,385 patients have been admitted to different hospitals with dengue since January, and 951 of them released after recovery. Bangladesh is seeing a rise in dengue cases when the Covid situation is worsening in the country, with the rapid spread of the highly contagious Delta variant.   DGHS spokesman and line director, Prof Dr. Nazmul Islam, Sunday expressed his deep concern over dengue, in a regular heath bulletin on coronavirus. Read: Amid Covid pandemic dengue could worsen: DGHS The situation would continue to deteriorate if those responsible for mosquito control across the country do not try their best by all means, Dr Nazmul said. "If someone has temperature, they should be tested for dengue as well as corona," he added. "And in case of treatment, medicines must be taken on the advice of a registered doctor only. If necessary, one could take treatment by contacting the hotline number of DGHS." A total of 1,193 cases and three confirmed dengue-related deaths were reported in 2020. According to official figures, 101,354 dengue cases and 179 deaths were recorded in Bangladesh in 2019. Read: Drives to continue to control dengue: DSCC mayor Dengue fever was first reported in Bangladesh in 2000 when it claimed 93 lives. In the following three years, the fatalities almost fell to zero. However, the mosquito-borne viral infection struck again in 2018, killing 26 and infecting 10,148 people.

Two mango traders of Laxmipur district have been infected with the Delta strain of Coronavirus, which was first found in India, said Civil Surgeon Dr Abdul Gaffar on Tuesday. Dr Abdul Gaffar said the two people, who tested Covid-19 positive, returned from Chapainawabganj with mangoes few days ago. Read: Covid surge: Strict restrictions imposed in Dinajpur Hili area for a week Both the traders fell sick after returning home from Chapainawabganj and then they tested positive for Covid-19, he said. Both of them were referred to Dhaka Medical College and Hospital as their condition started worsening, said Dr Abdu Gaffar. However, the samples of the two infected people were also sent to the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IEDCR). Read:14-day lockdown in Damurhuda to contain Covid spread Besides, the health authorities urged people to maintain health safety protocols to prevent rapid spread of the virus. In the past 24 hours, nine people were found infected with Covid-19 in the district, raising the total number to 3073. Read:Covid-19: 12 patients die at RMCH in a single day So far, 54  people have died of Covid while 80 more people died after showing Covid-19 symptoms in the district. The infection rate in the district is 17 percent.