Bangladesh has recorded the highest single-day Covid-19 cases with 1,873 people testing positive in the 24 hours between Friday afternoon and Saturday morning.
With the latest figure, the number of total confirmed cases nationwide on Saturday jumped to a grim 32,078.
In the last 24 hours, the country also recorded 20 more deaths from the deadly disease, taking the total number of fatalities to 452.
Prof Nasima Sultana, additional director general (administration) of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), revealed the latest figures from Dhaka in the afternoon, during a daily Covid-19 online bulletin.
Graph - Daily new cases in Bangladesh | Worldometers
She said, in the past 24 hours, as many as 9,977 samples were collected and highest 10,834 samples (including the pending ones) were tested.
“A total of 234,675 tests have been conducted so far,” she added.
Just two days ago, Bangladesh had recorded 1,773 Covid-19 cases -- highest in a 24-hour span, since the first cases were reported back in March.
Several senior DGHS officials, late last month, had feared that no less than 50,000 people would be infected by the end of May.
Chittagong division records highest deaths in 24hrs
Prof Nasima said, of the 20 new deceased -- 16 men and four women -- 15 had died at hospitals, four at home, and one was brought dead to a hospital.
Also, of those who died, highest eight were from Chittagong division, four from Dhaka division, two each from Rangpur, Mymensingh, and Rajshahi divisions, and one each from Sylhet and Khulna divisions.
She also said two of the deceased were between 21 and 30 years old, three between 31 and 40, three between 41 and 50, eight between 51 and 60, three between 61 and 70, and one was between 71 and 80.
Bangladesh on Friday had recorded the highest of Covid-19 deaths -- 24 -- in a 24-hour span.
The country’s first fatality was recorded on March 18 and the death toll had crossed the 100 mark on April 20.
Covid-19 situation in Bangladesh | |
Total deaths | 452 |
Total cases | 32,078 |
Total recoveries | 6,486 |
Total tests | 234,675 |
New deaths | 20 |
New cases | 1,873 |
New recoveries | 296 |
New tests | 10,834 |
296 more recover
During Saturday’s briefing, Prof Nasima also said that 296 more Covid-19 patients recovered from the infection in the past 24 hours.
So far 6,486 people have made full recovery after being infected by the novel coronavirus.
Nasima said: "Total 286 people were put into institutional isolation in the last 24 hours. As many as 4,305 individuals are now in isolation, while 2,069 others have been released so far.
"Some 2,322 people have been put in home and institutional quarantine over the past 24 hours. Till now, 260,416 people have been quarantined across the country, of which 205,259 have been released."
Graph - Daily deaths in Bangladesh | Worldometers
Over 10,000 tests in a day for the third time in 4 days
With the latest developments, the number of Covid-19 samples tested in Bangladesh in a 24-hour period went past the 10,000-mark for the third time in the last four days.
Authorities concerned were able to conduct more than 10,000 tests on May 20 for the first time since first detection on March 8.
This seems to be the outcome of the government’s efforts to intensify the Covid-19 testing facilities across the country.
On May 16, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said that the government was planning to raise its daily Covid-19 testing capacity to at least 10,000 by the end of this month when another 20 test labs will start operating.
However, two days earlier, he had said that the number of tests performed across Bangladesh would gradually be increased to 15,000 as soon as possible.
Covid-19, a severe acute respiratory illness caused by a new coronavirus strain named Sars-CoV-2, broke out in China's Wuhan in December last year and quickly spread throughout the world, becoming a pandemic in less than three months.
The fast-spreading virus has infected more than 5,370,000 people and claimed over 342,400 lives across the world until Saturday night, according to worldometer.
At the same time, more than 2,224,300 people have recovered from the disease that has spread to 213 countries and territories across the planet.
