With no respite from the coronavirus pandemic in sight, the country has recorded 40 deaths and 3,868 new cases of the deadly virus in the last 24 hours.
With the latest figure, the number of fatalities so far has risen to 1,661, and the number of identified cases in the country now stands at 130,474.
The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) assured that the country’s healthcare infrastructure was capable of handling the rising number of patients.
“There are enough general and ICU beds available in all hospitals dedicated for Covid-19 treatment,” its Additional Director General Nasima Sultana said.
There are 16 hospitals dedicated for coronavirus patients in the capital and another in Dhaka district. The dedicated hospitals in Dhaka city have 6,773 general beds and 180 intensive care unit (ICU) beds. Of them, 2,375 general beds and 97 ICU beds are occupied now.
Other dedicated hospitals across the country have 14,610 general and 379 ICU beds in total. Of which, 9,910 general beds and 196 ICU beds are still empty.
“Beds are empty in all dedicated hospitals. Anyone can call the DGHS control room for information or to get support for admission in any of the hospitals,” said Prof Nasima.
Fatality rate 1.27%
Of the 40 who died on Friday -- 31 men and nine women – 14 were from Dhaka division, 12 from Chittagong, four each from Barisal and Khulna, and three each from Rangpur and Sylhet.
Prof Nasima said one of the deceased was between 0 and 10 years of age; three between 31 and 40; six between 41 and 50; 12 between 51 and 60; 14 between 61 and 70; three between 71 and 80; and one over 80.
Of the victims, 31 died in different hospitals and nine at home, she added.
The death toll accounts for 1.27% of all infected so far.
Deaths from the coronavirus infection crossed the 1,500 mark in Bangladesh on June 22 and the country recorded its first fatality on March 18.
On June 18, Covid-19 cases in Bangladesh crossed the 100,000 mark, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 102,292.
On June 17, Bangladesh crossed the 4,000 mark, recording 4,008 new cases, the highest in a 24-hour span.
The country also recorded 53 deaths from the deadly Covid-19 infection on June 16, the highest number of deaths recorded in the country in a single day.
20.91% test positive in 24hrs
The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) official said as many as 18,275 samples were collected in the last 24 hours.
18,498 samples were tested in 66 authorized labs across the country in the same time period, and 3,868 of them or 20.91% tested Covid-19 positive, she said.
In all, 696,941 tests have been conducted so far -- of which 18.72% tested positive, she added.
Recovery rate 40.72%
In the briefing, the DGHS officials also said that 1,638 more Covid-19 patients recovered from the infection in the last 24 hours.
So far, 53,133 people – 40.72% of all infected – have made full recovery from the deadly viral infection.
Across the country, 861 more people were taken to isolation in the last 24 hours, while 490 were released. As many as 13,800 patients remain in isolation now.
During the same period, another 2,922 people were put in quarantine and 2,799 were released. At present, 64,121 people are quarantined across the country.
“The government now has 153,181 personal protective equipment (PPE) in reserve. In the past 24 hours, we distributed 8,450 PPEs to frontline workers,” 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 2019 and quickly spread throughout the world, becoming a pandemic in less than three months.
Till now the fast-spreading coronavirus has claimed more than 492,080 lives and infected more than 9,724,140 people globally, according to worldometer.
As many as 5,260,762 people have recovered from Covid-19, which has spread to 213 countries and territories across the world.
