Home ›› 27 Jul 2021 ›› Front
Rashad Ahmed
Bangladesh recorded its highest-ever coronavirus-related deaths and cases on Monday even as the government is enforcing a ‘strict lockdown’ to stem the spread of the virus.
The health authorities reported 247 deaths and detected 15,192 new cases in 24 hours, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Before this, the country’s highest single-day fatalities were 231, recorded on July 19. The highest number of new infections recorded earlier was 13,768 on July 12.
The local death toll now stands at 19,521 as total confirmed cases soared to 11,79,827. Bangladesh reported its first coronavirus cases on March 8 last year and the first death on March 18, 2020.
In a regular press release, DGHS said the daily infection rate was 29.82 per cent after testing 50,952 samples at 639 laboratories in a 24-hour period until Monday morning.
During this period, 11,052 patients recovered, pushing the number of recoveries to 10,09,975.
Delta variant
After the Eid-ul-Azha, the government imposed a 14-day ‘strict lockdown’ from July 23.
“Coronavirus infection and deaths are rising due to the spread of Delta variant,” said Professor Nazrul Islam, a virologist and former vice-chancellor of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University Hospital.
In Bangladesh, the first case of Delta variant was confirmed on May 8.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said that this highly contagious variant is likely to become the dominant strain over the coming months.
Delta variant, first detected in India, has now been found in 124 territories and already accounts for more than three-quarters of sequenced specimens in many major countries, the UN health agency said.
5 Covid dedicated hospitals
Among the deaths reported on Monday, 141 were male and 220 of the victims died in hospitals.
Dhaka division recorded 72 deaths, followed by Chattogram (61), Khulna (46), Rajshahi (21), Rangpur (16), Sylhet (14), Barishal (12) and Mymensingh (5).
Health Minister Zahid Maleque has said that 80 per cent of 15,719 general beds and most of the 1,321 ICU seats were occupied.
Bangladesh is setting up five Covid-dedicated field hospitals to handle the additional number of patients.
But health service officials said that tackling the situation will be impossible if the virus infection is not contained.
They said the people largely ignored the health guidelines even during the government-announced strict lockdown.
Nazrul Islam said that some people went out of house for livelihood but many had gone out with any reason. “The government should ensure food for the poor and punish the violators,” he said.
Dengue cases rise
The health authorities confirmed hospitalisation of 123 dengue patients on Monday, the highest this year.
Since January, 1,802 people have been diagnosed with the mosquito-borne disease. Of them, only 50 are from outside Dhaka.
Of the total cases, 1,430 were detected in July alone.
