Covid-19 has been seen to be deadlier for men in Bangladesh as 79% of the total number of deaths were those of males, according to data.
The death toll from Covid-19 in Bangladesh climbed to 2,457 on Wednesday, with 33 more people succumbing to the disease in the past 24 hours.
Of the deceased, 27 were male and six were female. So far 1,940 male patients and 517 female patients have died of Covid-19. The mortality rate for males is thus higher than for females. The male death rate stood at 79% and the female death rate stood at 21%.
Some 3,533 fresh cases were also confirmed between Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, taking the country’s total number of cases to 1,93,590.
Prof Nasima Sultana, additional director general (administration) of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), announced the latest Covid-19 updates during the daily online briefing in Dhaka on Wednesday afternoon.
Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) Vice Chancellor Prof Kanak Kanti Barua told Dhaka Tribune that women had a stronger immunity system than men in general.
Some cultural factors had also contributed to the higher male death rate, he said.
“Women are usually more careful and tend to follow health guidelines more than men. Also, in our country, women do not go out as much as men and therefore are less likely to contract the virus,” he told this correspondent.
At the daily online health bulletin, DGHS Add DG Nasima Sultana also said that 1,796 people had recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours, with total recoveries now at 1,05,023.
A total of 54.25% of all those infected have made a full recovery since the first Covid-19 case was announced on March 8.
Nasima Sultana said around 14,308 samples were collected in the last 24 hours and 14,002 samples were tested in 79 laboratories across the country.
The total number of tests conducted till date stands at 9,80,402.
25.23% test positive in 24 hours
The positive case rate against the number of tests was 25.23% in the last 24-hour period and so far the positive case rate against the total number of tests is 19.75% in Bangladesh.
The mortality rate was 1.27% on Wednesday against the totality of cases detected so far.
Of the deceased, one was aged between 0-11, three were aged between 31-40, five were aged between 41-50, 10 were aged between 51-60, seven were between 61-70, five were aged between 71-80, and two were aged between 81-90.
Sixteen of them were from Dhaka division, seven from Chittagong division, two from Rajshahi division, five from Khulna division, and three from Rangpur division.
So far, a total of 1,224 people have died in Dhaka division, 633 died in Chittagong, 127 in Rajshahi,138 in Khulna, 89 in Barishal, 110 in Sylhet, 80 in Rangpur, and 56 in Mymensingh.
Situation at dedicated Covid-19 hospitals
In the last 24 hours, 28 people died in hospitals and six died in their homes.
In Dhaka Metropolitan area, 2,027 patients are currently hospitalized and 4,278 of general beds are vacant. Only 33 intensive care units are vacant and 109 are occupied.
In Chittagong Metropolitan area, 307 patients are currently hospitalized and 350 of the general beds are vacant. Only 19 intensive care units are vacant and 20 are occupied.
The other dedicated hospitals across the country have 1,802 people being hospitalized currently and 5,900 of the total general beds are vacant. A total of 76 patients are currently in ICUs, while 117 ICUs are vacant in the rest of the dedicated hospitals.
“Besides, Bangladesh has a total of 11,279 oxygen cylinders across the country,” Nasima Sultana said.
She added that 949 people had been taken to isolation in the last 24 hours, and currently 17,864 people were in isolation.
On March 8, the health authorities in Bangladesh reported the first three cases of Covid-19, a severe acute respiratory illness caused by the new coronavirus strain Sars-CoV-2. The country recorded its first fatality on March 18.