Yet another 21 Covid-19 patients died with 1,166 more testing positive for the new strain of coronavirus in the last 24 hours across the country.
With the latest figures, Bangladesh’s Covid-19 death toll reached 522 and the total confirmed Covid-19 cases as of Tuesday climbed to 36,751.
As many as 5,407 samples were tested while 21.56% were found positive in the last 24 hours. In the same period the authorities collected 4,416 samples for testing. Till Tuesday, a total of 2,58,441 tests have been conducted so far.
Prof Nasima Sultana, additional director general (Administration) of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), revealed the latest figures on Tuesday afternoon through a daily online bulletin on the Covid-19 situation.
Dr Nasima said among the 21 new deceased, 14 were male and 7 were female. Of those, 15 were from Dhaka division including three in Dhaka city, seven in Dhaka district, and one each in Narayanganj, Gazipur, Narsingdi, Manikganj, and Munshiganj.
Four were from Chittagong division including one in Chittagong city, two in Comilla, and one in Cox’s Bazar and one each in Pirojpur and Jhalakathi under Barisal division.
Dr Nasima said one of the deceased was below ten, one between 11 and 20 years of age, two between 31 and 40, five between 41 and 50, seven in their 50s, three between 61 and 70, one between 71 and 80, and one in their 80s.
“Of the deceased, 20 died at hospitals and another one at home,” she added.
Meanwhile on Tuesday, 245 more patients recovered in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of recovered to 7,589.
Dr Nasima said 326 people were sent to isolation over the past 24 hours span, taking the number of people currently in isolation to 3,616 across the country.
A total of 2,68,315 people were taken to home and institutional quarantine since the beginning. Of those 2,12,325 were released while 55,889 are in quarantine currently.
Dr Nasima said the country’s selected hospitals are equipped with altogether 12,784 isolation beds, 399 intensive care units (ICUs), and 106 dialysis units.
Bangladesh had marked 500 deaths on May 25 since reporting the first fatality on March 18. On the same day, the country recorded the highest number of coronavirus cases in a single day, with 1,975 people having tested positive.
Bangladesh recorded the highest number of deaths (28) in a single day on May 24.
The country recorded 152 deaths and 5,630 positive cases in the last seven days.
Follow health guidelines while returning to Dhaka
In the briefing, Dr Nasima said many people will come back to Dhaka after celebrating the Eid at their village homes.
She has urged people to travel carefully following the health guidelines. She requested to put on masks for protection during travelling.
Terming it a rule of thumb, she said: "Whenever you go out, you must wear a mask. Maintain social distancing to protect each other from coronavirus.
"We must wash our hands with soap and water repeatedly and refrain from touching our eyes, mouth, and nose until we wash our hands properly," she added.
On March 8, health authorities in Bangladesh reported the first case of Covid-19, a severe acute respiratory illness caused by the new strain of coronavirus, Sars-CoV-2.
The virus broke out in China's Wuhan in December last year and quickly spread throughout the world, becoming a pandemic in less than three months.
