As many as 37 people have died after exhibiting symptoms similar to that of the Covid-19 across 24 districts, since Bangladesh recorded its first coronavirus case on March 8.
Between March 30 and March 31 alone, 14 people died with flu-like symptoms in Dhaka, Sylhet, Pirojpur, Barisal, Sunamganj, Manikganj Noakhali, Rangpur, Chandpur, Jessore, Dinajpur, and Kushtia, according to our district correspondents and other media outlets.
Two male adults from Keraniganj and Nawabganj upazilas, who were suffering from respiratory issues, cold and fever, had died in Dhaka on March 30.
In Pirojpur, a 17-year-old boy died from fever, cold, cough and sore throat at a village under Bhandaria upazila on March 31, said Dr HM Zahirul Islam, health officer at Upazila Health Complex.
His samples were sent to the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) to determine if he was positive for Covid-19, while local administration put the whole village under lockdown soon afterwards.
In Sylhet, a teenage girl, who had been suffering from similar issues, died at the isolation unit of Shaheed Shamsuddin Ahmed Hospital on March 31.
Other than these cases, 23 other patients died under similar circumstances in Shariatpur, Munshiganj, Lakshmipur, Bogra, Tangail, Jamalpur, Khulna, Satkhira, Comilla, Natore, Naogaon, and Netrokona between March 8 and April 5.
Samples collected from the deceased were sent to medical facilities equipped to test for Covid-19, the disease cause by a new coronavirus strain. Some of these results came back as negative, while the rest are yet to be available.
Addressing reports of these deaths, IEDCR Director Dr Meerjady Sabrina Flora at a recent press briefing said they had collected samples from the bodies of these victims, but most of them came back negative.
Meanwhile, until Sunday, 88 people were confirmed infected with the novel coronavirus in Bangladesh, according to the health authorities. Of them, 18 tested positive in the last 24 hours, the highest in a day since the country’s first three cases were reported early March.
Addressing a briefing on Sunday, Health Minister Zahid Maleque also confirmed that another Covid-19 patient had died in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll from the deadly virus to nine.
At the briefing, Dr Meerjady also confirmed that three more people have recovered in the last 24 hours. With them, a total of 33 Covid-19 patients have recovered and gone home.