Although the number of Covid-19 tests saw a sharp fall during the Eid holidays, the rate of infection stayed somewhat the same, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said on Sunday.
“The number of tests was low as a fewer number of samples was collected during the last seven days due to the Eid holidays. As a result, the total number of infected patients dropped. But the infection rate did not fall below 30%. Instead, the infection rate was 32.55% on Saturday,” DGHS Spokesman Prof Nazmul Islam said while speaking at a virtual press briefing on the country's pandemic situation.
He further said the number of sample collection and Covid tests would increase significantly within a few days.
Dhaka is the worst-hit district in terms of Covid infection with more than 400,000 identified cases, he added.
He further said that the other badly affected districts are Chittagong, Comilla Sylhet, Bogra, Narayanganj, Khulna and Faridpur. However, Rajshahi is the least affected district with only 16,416 patients.
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In terms of divisional Covid death rate, the DGHS official said Dhaka is now on the top of the list, followed by Khulna.
Dr Nazmul also said lockdown was an effective way to slow down virus transmission. “We will be able to contain the upward trend of the coronavirus transmission by making the ongoing lockdown a success with active support from all.”
He urged those eligible for vaccination to complete the registration through the government platform Surokkha to receive the vaccine doses quickly.
Replying to a question, Nazmul said experts are examining the mobile ventilators that came from the United States.
“These ventilators will be set up at different places based on necessity.”