Bangladesh recorded its highest 11,651 daily Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours until Thursday morning, taking the number of total infections to 9,89,219.
The county also saw 199 more deaths, the second-highest ever reported, from the deadly virus over the same period, taking the tally to 15,792, the Directorate General of Health Services said in a press release.
The daily deaths are in the three-digit mark for the 11th straight day while the cases are in the five-digit mark for the 3rd straight day.
The daily infection rate slightly rose to 31.62 per cent from Wednesday's 31.32 per cent.
In light of the deteriorating situation, Bangladesh on July 1 went into a 14-day countrywide strict restriction imposed by the government to curb the upsurge of Covid deaths and infections.
Bangladesh reported its first cases on March 8 last year and the first coronavirus-related death on March 18 the same year.
The total number of tests carried out since the pandemic broke out in the country is 68,66,682, including 36,850 tests in the last 24 hours. The overall infection rate is gradually increasing and currently stands at 14.41 per cent.
Among the latest fatalities, Dhaka division saw the highest 65 deaths, followed by 55 in Khulna, 37 in Chattogram, and 10 in Mymensingh.
Besides, nine died in Rajshahi division, five in Sylhet and 3 in Barishal.
Strict movement restrictions
The government-announced nationwide weeklong strict restrictions came into effect on July 1 morning to combat the growing numbers of infections and deaths from Covid-19 in the country.
Later on July 5, the government extended the strict nationwide lockdown until July 14.
Members of Armed Forces and Border Guard Bangladesh along with other law enforcement agencies were seen patrolling the streets to strictly enforce the restrictions.
Earlier on June 25, in light of the worsening condition, the government announced that a strict weeklong countrywide lockdown would be enforced from June 28 to curb the virus’ spread. The decision was revised later on.
The decision came following the recommendation of National Technical Advisory Committee on Covid-19.
NTAC suggested enforcing a minimum of 14-day complete shutdown to stem the tide of infection.
The government had earlier imposed restrictions on movement on April 5 this year. They were extended until July 15 in phases.
Although the number of cases and deaths declined to some extent, the situation went downhill in recent weeks as people are still reluctant to follow basic health rules and continue to flout government-issued guidelines.
The Covid-19 situation in the bordering districts has deteriorated in recent days, prompting the local administration to enforce full-scale lockdown in some areas.
Bangladesh shut its border with India on April 26 as the neighbouring country’s coronavirus situation worsened. The closure was extended in phases until July 14.
Amid the spike in Covid cases triggered by local transmission of the Indian variant (Delta), experts predicted that Bangladesh might see the peak of the current wave of the deadly virus in the third week of July.
