One lakh cases in 16 days

Bangladesh has passed the grim milestone of 700,000 coronavirus cases as the country enters a weeklong lockdown with strict restrictions to tackle a new wave of infections and deaths. The caseload had surpassed 600,000 on Apr 1 and another 100,000 cases were logged in the next 16 days, the fastest upturn since the start of the outbreak. As many 5,185 people tested positive for COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8am Thursday to take the tally to 703,170, according to data released by the government.

Bangladesh reported its first case of the coronavirus infection on Mar 8 last year. Three months had passed by the time the caseload reached 100,000 on Jun 18. It took exactly a month for the tally of infections to double. The rise in infections followed a similar trajectory in the subsequent months, with the caseload hitting the 500,000-mark on Dec 20.

With daily infections trending downwards from Nov 30 last year, it took over three months for the tally to rise 500,000 on Apr 1. Since then, coronavirus infections and deaths have surged across the country, setting daily records.

In a global context, Bangladesh's coronavirus caseload makes it the 33rd worst-affected country in the world, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Neighbouring India is also battling a fresh wave of infections which has seen the South Asian nation overtake Brazil as the second hardest-hit country with over 10.3 million cases.

Globally, over 137.48 million people have been infected by the coronavirus and 2.96 million have died, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.

South Asia - India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bhutan, Nepal, Maldives, and Sri Lanka - accounts for 11 percent of global cases and almost 6 percent of deaths. The region accounts for 23 percent of the world’s population of 7.59 billion people, according to Reuters.