Bangladesh saw the greatest proportional increase in Covid-19 infections in the South-East Asian region in a week, according to a data published by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The country saw a 350% rise in infections in the past week, with 1,319 people testing positive in the 24 hours to June 22. Four deaths were reported in the past one week.
According to the IEDCR, the Omicron variant is behind the rapid spread of infections in the country.
Moreover, new sub-variants of the Omicron have already been discovered in Bangladesh.
According to WHO, 2,212 fresh cases were reported in Bangladesh in the past week, a 350% rise compared to last week’s 492 cases.
Bangladesh is followed by Fiji in terms of rising percentage of infection, with the Pacific country reporting a 298% rise in infections.
South-East Asia Region sees upward trend
The South East Asian region reported an increase in the last three weeks after a declining trend in new cases observed since mid-January 2022.
Over 99, 000 new cases were reported this week, a 46% increase as compared to the previous week.
Six (60%) countries showed increases in the number of new cases of 20% or greater, with the greatest proportional increases observed in Bangladesh (2212 vs 492 new cases; +350%), Maldives (369 vs 160 new cases; +131%) and Indonesia (7587 vs 3688 new cases; +106%).
The highest numbers of new cases were reported from India (74,675 new cases; 5.4 new cases per 100,000; +65%), Thailand (14,181 new cases; 20.3 new cases per 100,000; -22%), and Indonesia (2.8 new cases per 100,000).
The number of new weekly deaths increased by 4% as compared to the previous week, with over 273 new deaths reported. The highest numbers of new deaths were reported from Thailand (14, 181 new cases; 20.3 new cases per 100 000; -22%), and Indonesia (2.8 new cases per 100 000).
The overall number of Covid cases crossed 547 million amid a rise in new infections on Friday.
According to the latest global data, the total case count mounted to 547,386,723 while the death toll from the virus reached 6,347,567 Friday morning.
The US recorded 88,566,961 cases so far and 1,040,236 people have died from the virus in the country, the data shows.
India reported 13,313 new Covid-19 cases, taking the total tally to 43,365,016, according to the federal health ministry data released on Thursday.
