Bangladesh recorded its highest 231 coronavirus related deaths till 8:00am on Monday in the last 24 hours, according to the Directorate General of Health Services.
With the new deaths, the total fatalities in the country now stand at 18,125.
Bangladesh also recorded its second-highest 13,321 Covid-19 cases during the period pushing the total caseload to 11,17,310.
The daily infection rate slightly rose to 29.59 per cent from Sunday's 29.09 per cent after testing 45,012 samples in 638 laboratories across the country.
Meanwhile, 9,335 patients have recovered from the deadly infection in the last 24-hours with an 84.25 per cent recovery rate.
The overall infection rate is gradually increasing and currently stands at 15.30 per cent.
Among the latest fatalities, Dhaka division saw the highest 73 deaths, followed by 57 in Khulna, 43 in Chattogram and 17 in Rangpur, 16 in Rajshahi, and 11 in Mymensingh.
Besides, eight died in Sylhet division and six in Barishal.
Bangladesh reported its first cases on March 8 last year and the first coronavirus-related death on March 18 the same year.
Strict movement restrictions
In light of the deteriorating situation, a government-announced nationwide weeklong strict restrictions came into effect on July 1. Later, the lockdown was extended until July 14.
On July 13, the government decided to relax the lockdown restrictions from July 15 to July 22 due to Eid-ul-Azha, which will be celebrated on July 21.
During the period, public transportation and long-haul buses will resume on a limited scale and shopping malls are allowed to reopen.
However, strict lockdown restrictions will resume for another two weeks from July 23.
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 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.
