Covid-19 deaths rising sharply in Dhaka

Covid-19 deaths in Dhaka division have risen sharply since last week, although deaths were higher in bordering districts than in Dhaka at the beginning of the current wave due to the spread of delta variants.

A total of 204 people died of coronavirus in the country in the last 24 hours. Of them, 82 people died in Dhaka division, which is the highest in a single day here.

In the last one week, Bangladesh saw 1,250 Covid-19deaths, of which 454 were from Dhaka division. In the previous week, 377 people died of Covid-19 in the division.

However, the Covid-19 positivity rate in Dhaka division is now 30%, which was 10% a month ago.

After 10,000 single day cases reported in the last six days, the number of daily cases declined significantly on Saturday with 8,489 people tested positive with health officials testing around 29,214 samples in 627 labs across the country.

Earlier, on 19 April, 71 people died in Dhaka, the highest number of daily deaths recorded at that time. With 2,404 deaths, April has been the deadliest month of Covid outbreak. The month recorded the highest of 112 deaths on a single day and 100-plus daily deaths five times that month.

Experts said at the beginning of the ongoing wave, that Dhaka recorded fewer deaths and infections, although the death toll was high in Dhaka in the two previous waves. However, the number of patients and deaths in Dhaka has started increasing in the last three weeks.

DGHS spokesperson Professor Robed Amin told the Business Standard that infections and deaths are on the rise as the Delta variant spreads across the country.  Infections and death are also on the rise in Dhaka. Previously, more elderly people died of Covid-19 but now young people are also dying.

Dr Shoman Aniruddha, an anesthesiologist at the ICU of Mugda General Hospital, told The Business Standard that hospitals in Dhaka still have more patients coming from outside Dhaka. Patients' conditions are rapidly deteriorating and many are dying of long journeys and late arrival at a hospital. Under these circumstances, Dhaka is seeing more deaths.

Patients infected with the Delta variant are dying with their lungs becoming infected faster, he added.

With 204 new casualties, the country's death rate surged to 1.62% in the last 24 hours until Saturday 8am, taking the death toll to 17,669. Also, the positivity rate is 29.06% and the case tally climbed to 10,92,411.

However, the country has so far recorded 3,166 deaths in July and has already witnessed 200-plus deaths in seven days, and crossed the 100 plus mark for nine days in the month.

Elsewhere, 49 people died in Khulna, 32 in Chattogram, 20 in Rajshahi, 10 in Rangpur, five in Barishal, four in Mymensingh, and two in Sylhet division.