With experts fearing Bangladesh may brace for a second wave of coronavirus infection, data show that Dhaka and Chittagong divisions have emerged as the epicentre of the pandemic, with cases and deaths reported from elsewhere in the country accounting for only 28% of the total numbers.
The daily tally of new novel coronavirus cases in Bangladesh in the last seven days has remained over 1,500 with the count hitting a ten-week high on Monday. Infections surged by 2,139, bringing the total to 434,472.
According to the latest data by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), Dhaka division accounted for 55.47% of the total number of infections and Chittagong for 16.66%.
The two divisions also saw the most deaths from Covid-19.
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According to DGHS data, 3,261 fatalities, which account for 52.47% of the deaths, have been reported from Dhaka while Chittagong recorded 1,218 deaths, accounting for 19.6%.
Contagion outside Dhaka and Chittagong is much lower.
The southwestern division of Khulna reported 7.32% of the infections, followed by the northern division of Rajshahi having 6.8% of the cases.
Covid-19 cases reported from the northeastern Sylhet division accounted for 4.43% and in northern Rangpur it stood at 4.19%. The southern division of Barisal accounted for 2.95% of the novel coronavirus cases in Bangladesh and 2.17% of the infections were reported in Mymensingh.
Official data of Covid-19 fatalities also showed a similar pattern.
Khulna recorded 7.76% of the deaths, followed by Rajshahi with 6.1%. Mymensingh saw the lowest number of deaths at 130, a little over 2% of the total number of deaths.
Fatalities in Rangpur accounted for 4.52% while in Sylhet they were 4.14%. Southern Barisal logged 3.33% of all deaths in Bangladesh.
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With 21 new confirmed deaths, the toll in Bangladesh has risen to 6,125 as of Monday.
District-wise breakdown
Till October 30, three districts had single-digit death counts. Including them, the five districts with the least deaths from Covid-19 are Bandarban (4), Khagrachari (6), Sherpur (9), Netrokona (11) and Lalmonirhat (11).
The top ten districts in terms of deaths are Dhaka (2,162), Chittagong (340), Cumilla (313), Narayanganj (210), Bogra (201), Sylhet (175), Chadpur (128), Noakhali (120), Munshiganj (108) and Khulna (108).The districts with the highest number of infections are Dhaka (226,764), Chittagong (21,083), Bogra (8,074), Cumilla (7,919), Faridpur (7,429), Sylhet (7,315), Narayanganj (7,136), Gazipur (5,704), Khulna (6,519), Rajshahi (5,140) and Cox’s Bazar (5,130).
The districts with fewer than 1,000 Covid-19 infections are Sherpur (485), Meherpur (648), Panchagarh (653), Netrokona (735), Khagrachari (710), Jhalokathi (720), Bhola (772), Chapainawabganj (783), Banderban (807), Lalmonirhat (908), Rangamati (924), Barguna (928), Kurigram (938), Magura (949) and Bagerhat (980).