Global Covid-19 cases top 138 million

The overall number of global Covid cases has now surged past 138 million, an alarming figure that paints a bleak picture of the pandemic.

According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 138,056,297 while the death tally from the virus reached 2,971,539 Thursday morning.

The US has recorded 31,420,888 cases to date and more than 564,396 people have died so far from the virus in the country, as per the university data.

Brazil, which has been experiencing new wave of cases since January, registered 73,513 fresh cases, bringing the national tally to 13,673,507.

Brazil's Covid-19 death toll has risen to 361,884, with 3,459 new deaths in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health reported on Wednesday.

Besides, India's total cases is approaching 14 million, forcing the authorities concerned to enforce restrictions in many states from Wednesday.

India has so far registered 13,873,825 cases and 172,085 deaths from the virus, according to the government.

Situation in Bangladesh

With the shattering situation of Covid-19 cases, Bangladesh reported 96 deaths in 24 hours till Wednesday morning.

The latest fatalities have pushed up the local tally to 9,987 since the first death was reported on March 18 last year, a handout from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said. The mortality rate stood at 1.42 percent.

Bangladesh saw a spike in the number of daily cases in recent days that was followed by record single-day death counts.

On Wednesday, the country registered its highest number of deaths from the virus for the fourth time in five days. The figure was 69 on Tuesday, 83 on Monday, 78 on Sunday and 77 on Saturday.

Coronavirus claimed 568 lives in January this year, 281 in February and 638 in March.

The government has enforced a fresh strict lockdown for eight days from Wednesday in an effort to stop the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

Under the fresh lockdown all government, semi-government, autonomous, private offices and financial institutions will remain closed but the officers and employees will have to stay in their respective work stations.

The Cabinet division issued a notification in this regard on Monday. The lockdown will remain in force from 6 am Wednesday (April 14) till April 21 midnight.

Covid-19  Vaccine

The government launched a vaccination campaign on February 7 with doses received from the Serum Institute of India.

Experts are calling for ramping up the drive and urging people to follow the health guidelines to keep themselves and others around them safe.

On April 8, Bangladesh began its second phase of inoculation amid uncertainty over vaccine availability.