Another 33 people have died from Covid-19 in Bangladesh over the last 24 hours, taking the death toll from the pandemic in the country to 3,267 on Wednesday.
The number of samples tested increased compared to the past few days, with 11,160 tests conducted in 83 labs across the country. Among the samples tested, 2,654 were confirmed as Covid-19 positive, resulting in an infection rate of 23.7% on the day.
The total number of confirmed cases in the country now stands at 246,674.
DGHS Additional Director General (Administration) Prof Nasima Sultana revealed the latest figures in the daily online bulletin on the Covid-19 pandemic on Wednesday afternoon.
The previous drop in testing
A total 7,712 samples were tested on August 4, while 4,249 samples were tested on August 3 and 3,684 on August 2. On August 1, a total 8,802 samples were tested.
In June, Bangladesh had peaked at over 18,000 tests conducted per day.
In early July, DGHS spokesperson Dr Ayesha Akther told Dhaka Tribune: “There may be several factors contributing to the decline in daily tests. Charging for tests, testing facilities requiring a doctor’s prescription for tests, floods in different parts of the country, and health workers testing Covid-19 positive and going off duty may be some of them.”
Furthermore, several high-profile Covid-19 testing scams were revealed in the media in July.
1,890 more people recover
A further 1,890 patients successfully recovered from Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, taking the total number of recovered patients in the country to 141,750.
The recovery rate against the number of positive cases is 57.46%, while the mortality rate 1.32%.
Of the 33 new deceased, 25 were male and eight were female. So far, 2,574 male patients and 693 female patients have died from Covid-19.
Most of the deceased were over the age of 50, with two aged 31-40, four between 41-50, eight between 51-60, 10 between 61-70, six aged 71-80, one aged 81-90, and two between 91-100.
A total 18 of them died in Dhaka division, nine in Chittagong, one in Rajshahi, one in Khulna, one in
sal and three in Rangpur division. Among them, 31 people died in hospitals and two died in their homes.
In the Dhaka Metropolitan area, 2,127 patients are currently hospitalized with 186 patients are in intensive care units.
In the Chittagong Metropolitan area, 238 patients are currently hospitalized and 21 patients are in intensive care units.
A total 1,557 people are hospitalized in other dedicated hospitals across the country, with 95 patients in ICUs.
Bangladesh has a total 12,520 oxygen cylinders available.
In the last 24 hours, a further 758 people have been put in isolation and 1,847 people have been quarantined.
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.
