Another 95 die of Covid-19 in 24 hours

Bangladesh reported another 95 Covid-19 deaths in the last 24 hours till Wednesday 8am, which pushed the total number of deaths to 10,683 in the country.

The death rate presently stands at 1.46%, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), adding that the daily Covid-19 deaths in Bangladesh have stayed below the 100-mark for the second consecutive day.

Bangladesh had reported 112 deaths from the novel coronavirus on Monday, 20 April, which is the highest in a single day since the pandemic struck here last year.

The country also reported 4,280 new cases in the 24-hour period, with an infection rate of 15.07%, pushing the total number of cases here to 732,060. The current infection rate is 15.07%.

Among the latest day's victims, 59 were men and 36 were women. Of them, 91 died in different hospitals across the country, and four died at home. Besides, 7,072 people were declared free of the Covid-19 during the 24-hour period. The recovery rate now stands at 86.77%.

In the meantime, 28,408 samples were tested at 335 laboratories across the country.

The country's maiden cases were reported on 8 March in 2020, and the first death from the virus was reported on 18 March the same year.

'Covid-19 spreading due to new variations, mutations'

DGHS spokesperson Dr Robed Amin said the second wave of Covid-19 has begun in Bangladesh, which has caused a spike in the infections and deaths. The virus is spreading because of new variations and mutations.

He made the comment at a virtual health bulletin on Wednesday, organised by the DGHS to disperse information about the Covid-19 situation.

Dr Robed also said most of the people dying of Covid-19 are more than 60 years old, and many among them were suffering from diabetes and hypertension. A significant number of youths are also being infected by the newer variations of the novel coronavirus.

"Under the circumstances, there is no scope of considering whether someone has a comorbidity or not. Everyone has to be aware of the risks posed by Covid-19," Dr Robed said.

He continued, "The infections are going down, but deaths are increasing. The reason behind this is the reckless movement of people. Bangladesh has imposed a strict lockdown. We are optimistic that the number of infections and deaths will decrease after the next two weeks."

Dr Robed mentioned that a number of doctors faced harassment on the streets while going to their workplaces, as they did not have the movement pass.

"We have requested support from the law enforcers so that doctors and healthcare workers who are working to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic can move freely on the streets," he said.

The DGHS spokesperson also said 1,200 hospital beds are presently vacant in hospitals across the country.

"Some media reports claimed that there are no vacant beds in government hospitals. But this information is incorrect. Anyone can contact the MIS (management information system) and enquire about the number of vacant beds, ICUs (intensive care units) and ICU-equivalent beds in any hospital."