District
Covid claims 12 more lives at Kushtia hospital
Kushtia General Hospital on Wednesday morning reported 12 more Covid-related deaths in 24 hours amid an alarming surge in the number of new infections in the district.
Of the deceased, 10 were confirmed Covid patients while the remaining two showed symptoms of the virus, said Dr MA Momen, administrator of Kushtia General Hospital.
Read:Covid: 9 more die at Kushtia hospital
Besides, 325 people have been tested positive for coronavirus in the district in the past 24 hours. "Some 903 samples were tested during the period," he said.
The positivity rate currently stands at 35.99%, which was 29.39% a day before.
Read: 22 deaths in 24 hours: Kushtia records its highest daily Covid toll
Moreover, a total of 279 patients with Covid symptoms are currently undergoing treatment at the hospital.
So far, 11,198 people have been infected with the virus in the district, while the death toll stands at 359. On the other hand, 7,002 people have recovered from Covid in the district to date.
3 arrested over mason's mysterious death in Chattogram
Three persons have been arrested in connection with the death of a 45-year-old mason, whose body was found hanging in the office of a union council member in Chattogram on Tuesday.
The deceased was identified as Nurul Alam, son of late Sharaf Ali of the Karnafuli area in the district's Charpatharghata union.
Read: Chattogram hospital to admit only Covid patients
Police said on Wednesday they had made the arrests after an FIR was filed in the case at the local police station on a complaint of torture and murder by the deceased's family members.
The arrestees have been identified as UP member Asiya Khatun, 48, Korban Ali, 26 and Mohammad Parvez, 23.
Sources told UNB that Nurul had taken an advance of Tk 15,000 from Korban for the construction of his shop in the locality. A few days later, Nurul took another Tk15000 from Korban, following which a dispute broke out between the two and construction work was stopped for some days.
Read:Woman stabbed dead in Chattogram
Mohammad Nazrul, son of the deceased, said, "The accused had called my father on Tuesday morning. We thought he went to the shop construction site. But later in the afternoon, I saw the police and local people in front of the office of Asiya."
"If my father had committed suicide, they would have informed us. But they reported the death to the police to sort it out. It is clear that they had planned my father's murder," he added.
However, Mohammad Dulal Mahmud, officer-in-charge of Karnafuli Police Station, said that the exact cause of death would be ascertained only after an autopsy.
Read:6 of family hurt in Chattogram as cylinder leak causes fire
"We have arrested the three on the basis of Nazrul's complaint. The accused told us that they had locked up Nurul in the female upazila council member's office and went out for lunch. When they returned they saw his body hanging from the ceiling," the OC said.
The body has been sent to the morgue of Chittagong Medical College and Hospital for autopsy, the police officer said.
Army Chief distributes food aid among 5,000 destitute people
Army Chief General S M Shafiuddin Ahmed on Wednesday distributed essential food items among 5000 jobless and destitute people at Khulna stadium.
The assistance was a part of Bangladesh Army program, "Operation Covid Sheild-Phase-2”, undertaken to mitigate the economic hardship of people during the coronavirus lockdown.
Read:Khulna division records its highest deaths in a day due to Covid
The beneficiaries received five kgs of rice, three kgs of pulses, three kgs of flour, three kgs of potatoes, two kgs of sugar, two liters of edible oil and one kg of salt each.
The army chief called upon all to work in a united way in tackling the pandemic.
Nurul Anwar, Khulna divisional commissioner and high ranking military and civil officials, among others, were present on the occasion.
Read: New army chief SM Shafiuddin adorned with rank badge of General
Army personnel of the 55 Army Infantry Division have been deployed in Khulna division and 11 districts of Dhaka division to coordinate relief distribution programmes, operate medical teams and patrol alongside the civil administration since July 1, the beginning of nationwide stringent lockdown.
Covid: 9 die in Natore in 24 hours
The Covid-19 situation is deteriorating in Natore with each passing day. As many as nine people have succumbed to the virus in the past 24 hours, officials said on Tuesday morning.
Besides, the district has logged 93 fresh Covid cases since Monday morning. Some 293 samples were tested during this period, the officials said.
Read: Covid-19: 3 brothers inseparable in death
The positivity rate in Natore now stands at 32%, reports our correspondent.
But when deaths are not enough to instill fear in people, it's natural that fines or arrests won’t deter people from venturing out amid strict lockdown restrictions.
Read: Covid-19: Positivity rate now 62% in Natore sadar, municipality
In Natore, people were seen roaming around without masks on Tuesday morning, while many shops remained reopen in clear violation of the lockdown restrictions.
Barishal logs highest single-day Covid cases
Barisal on Tuesday morning logged as many as 879 fresh Covid cases in 24 hours, the division's highest single-day spike this year.
Of the 879 new Covid cases in the division, 492 are from Barisal district alone. So far, 10,104 people have been infected with Covid-19 in this district.
Read: 'Red zones' in Barishal remain abuzz
Besides, 15 more Covid-related deaths have been recorded in Barisal division in the past 24 hours, officials said.
Of them, 11 died at Sher-E-Bangla Medical College and Hospital (SBMCH), and two each in Barisal and Jhalokathi districts.
Divisional Health Director Dr Basudev Kumar Das said that a total of 356 patients have died of Covid-19 in the division so far.
Read: Covid nightmare in Barisal division: Record caseload of 710 reported
"Some 23,563 active Covid patients have been identified in the division to date, and 16,128 of them have recovered," he said.
According to SBMCH authorities, 53 more patients have been admitted to the hospital in the past 24 hours. Moreover, 311 Covid patients are currently undergoing treatment at the corona unit of the hospital.
Read: Barisal Division logs record 22 Covid deaths in a day
On Friday, local authorities imposed a ban on the admission of general patients to SBMCH to ease the pressure on the hospital doctors.
Meanwhile, the corona unit of Sher-e-Bangla Medical College Hospital is scrambling for beds amid a sudden surge in Covid cases in the division. Though the authorities recently increased the number of beds from 10 to 300, the purpose has not been solved.
Dr HM Saiful Islam, Director of SBMCH, said, “It is impossible to run a 300-bed unit amid a shortage of doctors, nurses and other staff. At the moment, it is not possible to increase the number of beds in the corona unit due to a lack of support. We will now admit only critical patients."
Moreover, the diarrhea ward of Barisal General Hospital has been turned into a corona unit to handle the deteriorating Covid situation in the district. "Admission of patients to the 22-bed corona ward started from Monday," said resident medical officer Dr Malay Krishna Baral.
19 more die of Covid at Rajshahi hospital
Nineteen more people have succumbed to Covid at Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital (RMCH) in the past 24 hours, health officials said Tuesday.
Hospital director Brigadier General Shamim Yazdani said that six of the patients were from Rajshahi district, three each from Natore, Naogaon and Pabna, and one hailed from Sirajganj district.
Read: 12 more die of Covid at Rajshahi hospital
On July 1, the authorities recorded as many as 22 deaths in the district, the highest single-day toll so far. Last month, some 354 people succumbed to Covid-19 at the corona unit of RMCH.
"Meanwhile, 158 people have tested positive for corona at the hospital during the 24-hour period. Some 469 samples were tested in two laboratories of the district during the period," the director said.
Read: Rajshahi Medical sees 22 deaths in single day
The positivity rate currently stands at 33.69%, which was 29.63% a day before.
Besides, 63 people have been admitted to the hospital with Covid symptoms in the past 24 hours. Currently, 504 patients are undergoing treatment at the hospital which has 454 beds.
RAB destroys four country-made bombs in Natore
The bomb disposal unit of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on Monday night disposed of four country-made bombs in the Naribari area of Natore’s Gurudaspur.
Read: College student drowns after jumping into river in Natore; body goes missing
Officials said that local residents spotted the bombs wrapped in a plastic bag in the bushes next to a pesticide store in the area on Monday afternoon and informed the police.
Soon, a joint team of local police and RAB personnel rushed to the spot, evacuated the area and cordoned it off. In the evening, the RAB bomb disposal unit reached the spot from Dhaka and destroyed the bombs around 8 pm, officials said.
Read:Patient in Natore flees clinic, dies on street gasping for air
"However, the bombs were not powerful. RAB members took away the exploded remains of the bombs to Dhaka for further examination," said Natore Police chief Liton Kumar Saha. "A probe is on."
Miscreants smash Ashrayan project house pillars in Faridpur
Unidentified youths broke two pillars of a house being built under the government’s Ashrayan project in Madhukhali upazila of Faridpur on Sunday night telling the beneficiary that these were not properly built.
The incident happened in Kalinagar area's Ashrayan project in ward-2 of Megmachi union in the upazila, officials said.
Also read: Ashrayan Project: Govt thoroughly scrutinizing “irregularities”
The perpetrators smashed two pillars of one of the five under construction houses of the project around 8:30pm.
One of the beneficiaries of the house, Akhi Mandal said, some four or five youths came and said they were sent from Faridpur to dismantle the house as those were not properly built.
“They broke the pillars saying they will rebuild them again”, she said.
On Monday morning Rakhi informed the incident to the Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md. Mostafa Monwar.
Also read: No laxity in costruction of Ashrayan houses to be tolerated: Project Director
The UNO said, in ward no 2 five houses were being built under the government’s Ashrayan Project 1 and 2, including Rakhi’s house.
He said, higher authorities were informed about the incident and a complaint will be filed with the police station in this regard.
Faridpur district’s Deputy Commissioner Atul Sarkar said, some evil quarters might have done this to tarnish government’s image.
Legal action will be taken in this regard after proper investigation, he said.
Officer-in-Charge of Madhukhali police station, Rathindranath Tarafdar said, “We have visited the spot and are investigating the matter”.
Woman stabbed dead in Chattogram
A female Kabiraj (herbal medicine practitioner) was stabbed to death and three other women were injured in an attack by a young man at Daspara in Banshkhali upazila of Chattogram district on Monday.
The deceased was identified as Fatema Begum, 46 of the upazila.
Read:6 of family hurt in Chattogram as cylinder leak causes fire
Police also arrested Ehsan, son of Mohammad Ibrahim alias Badar Amin of Maizpara in the upazila in this connection.
Quoting local people, Shafiqul Kabir, officer-in-charge of Banshkhali Police Station, said Fatema used to provide herbal medicines and taweez to local people on request.
Ehsan went to Fatema and sought some medicine so that he could influence the girl whom he loved.
Read: Out on joyride, woman raped by six on moving bus in Chattogram
Fatema gave him a taweez and some coconut water which did not work and Ehsan got sick after having the coconut water,said the OC.
Angered by the incident, Ehsan went to the house of Fatema again around 6:30 am and sought her explanation.
At one stage, Ehsan hit Fatema with a machete indiscriminately, leaving her seriously injured.
Read:Chattogram man stabbed to death by sister-in-law
Three others—Pakhi Akhter, 20, daughter of Fatema, Rabeya Begum, 25, a neighbour and Brishti, 10---were also injured while they tried to save Fatema.
Later, they were taken to a local hospital from where they were shifted to Chattogram Medical College and Hospital where doctors declared her dead.
14 more people die of Covid-19 at RMCH
Fourteen more Covid patients have died at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) in the last 24 hours, health officials said on Monday.
Read:Covid: 18 more patients die at Rajshahi hospital, fresh cases drop
Of the deceased, 6 were confirmed Covid patients while the remaining eight exhibited symptoms of the virus, said hospital director Brigadier General Shamim Yazdani.
Besides, 64 more new patients have been admitted to the hospital with Covid symptoms in the past 24 hours. Currently, 518 patients are undergoing treatment at the hospital which has 454 beds.
Read: Rajshahi Medical sees 22 deaths in single day
“After a decline in Covid-19 cases for the fifth straight day, the infection rate in the district is rising again. On Sunday, the authorities reported 152 new cases after testing 513 samples in two laboratories,” said Shamim.
The positivity rate climbed up to 29.63 % on Sunday with the fresh cases from Saturday’s 25.05%, a leap of 4.58%.