Covid-19 deaths and cases are on the rise again after the Eid-ul-Azha and weekend holidays, with Bangladesh tallying 228 more fatalities—the third highest daily toll—and 11,291 new patients on Sunday.
On the other hand, another 10,584 patients recovered from the infectious disease in the 24 hours between 8am on Saturday and 8am on Sunday, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The latest additions took the country’s death toll to 19,274, total caseload to 1,164,635 and the total number of recoveries to 998,923.
Dhaka counted 69 deaths, the highest among the eight divisions, followed by Khulna with 50 fatalities.
A Covid-19 patient is taken out of an ambulance and into Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital in Dhaka on Thursday, July 8, 2021 Mehedi Hasan/Dhaka Tribune
Chittagong division reported 40 deaths, Rajshahi 21, Rangpur 16, Mymensingh 15, Sylhet 11 and Barisal six.
Of the new patients, Dhaka logged 4,755 cases, the highest among the divisions, followed by Chittagong with 1,667 and Khulna with 1,278.
As many as 37,587 samples were tested during the 24-hour period, yielding an infection rate of 30.04%.
Also Read - DGHS: Fewer tests, higher infections during Eid holidays
The infection rate against all tests conducted in the country to date stands at 15.62%.
Meanwhile, the latest figures put the recovery rate at 85.77% and the mortality rate at 1.65 %.
Movement amid lockdown
With hospitals across the country overwhelmed by a surge in coronavirus cases, Bangladesh on Friday went into another spell of strict lockdown for 14 days right after a nine-day break for Eid-ul-Azha celebrations.
However, public and vehicular movement in the capital increased considerably on Sunday, the third day of the countrywide lockdown.
With the bourses, banks and several other essential services reopening after the weekly holidays, commuters were seen in Shabagh, Bangla Motor, Karwan Bazar, Farmgate, Dhanmondi, Mohammadpur, Banani, Rampura and Motijheel areas en route to their respective offices by rickshaws, motorcycles and cars or on foot, due to the ban on public transport.
Meanwhile, police, RAB, Border Guard Bangladesh and army personnel were vigilant in enforcing the lockdown by setting up checkpoints at different spots in the city.
As many as 587 people were arrested by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) for lockdown violations on Sunday, according to DMP Additional Deputy Commissioner (Media) Iftekharul Islam.
Besides, mobile courts fined 233 people Tk1 lakh and DMP’s Traffic Division fined 521 vehicles around Tk13 lakh.
Traffic Inspector Dulal Hossain said anyone failing to give a good reason for going outside were being fined.
Bangladesh reported its first three cases of Covid-19, a severe acute respiratory illness caused by a strain of coronavirus later named Sars-CoV-2, on March 8 last year.
The fast-spreading coronavirus has claimed more than 4.17 million lives and infected over 194.5 million people across the world till Sunday afternoon, according to Worldometer.
More than 176.6 million people have recovered from the disease, which has affected 222 countries and territories across the planet.
