Bangladesh reports 13 COVID-19 deaths

Bangladesh recorded 13 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) deaths and 1,066 fresh cases overnight. The recovery count rose to 5,09,172 after another 1,252 patients were discharged from the hospitals during the period, a press release of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said today.

“Thirteen more COVID-19 patients died in the last 24 hours, increasing thedeath toll from the pandemic to 8,515,” the release said, adding that the tally of infections has surged to 5,55,222 as 1,066 new cases were confirmed in the last 24 hours. A total of 16,111 samples were tested at 219 authorized laboratories across the country during the time.

Of the total sample tests in the past 24 hours, 6.62 percent tested positive, while 13.12 percent cases were detected from the total tests conducted so far, the release added.

Among the total infections, 91.71 percent patients have recovered, while 1.53 percent died so far since the first COVID-19 positive cases were reported in the country on March 8. Among the 13 deaths, 12 are male and one is female the press release said, adding one is in his 30s, three are in their 40s and two in their 50s while seven are above 60 years. According to the division-wise data, nine deaths took place in Dhaka Division.

Among the total 8,515 fatalities, 4,767 deaths occurred in Dhaka division, 1,574 in Chattogram division, 481 in Rajshahi division, 563 in Khulna division, 258 in Barishal division, 311 in Sylhet division, 364 in Rangpur division and 197 in Mymensingh division, according to the press release. A total of 42,32,139 samples have, so far, been tested since the detectionof the first COVID-19 cases in the country.

The DGHS said in order to make treatment facilities easily available for the COVID-19 patients, the government has introduced telemedicine services comprising 100 physicians for round the clock in the country. It added that 2,38,54,457 people received healthcare services from hotline mobile numbers and health web portals as the government formed a group of medical professionals to provide emergency healthcare services.

To receive information and treatment facilities on COVID-19, the contact hotline and mobile numbers are 16263; 333; 10655 and 01944333222. As of March 12, 2021, 11:49 GMT, 2,643,896 people have died so far from the COVID-19 outbreak and there are currently 119,223,330 confirmed cases in 212 countries and territories, according to Worldometer, a reference website that provides counters and real-time statistics for diverse topics.

China was the world’s first country which on January 11 reported the first death from the novel coronavirus in Wuhan, the capital of Central China’s Hubei province.