DHAKA, July 18, 2020 (BSS) – The caseload from the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) in Bangladesh crossed two lakh mark overnight, while it (country) reported 1, 10,098 total recoveries from the lethal disease during the period.
“The tally of COVID-19 infections has surged to 2,02,066 as 2,709 new cases were confirmed in the last 24 hours,” Additional Director General of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Prof Nasima Sultana told a virtual media briefing at DGHS in the city this afternoon.
She said 34 more COVID-19 patients died at the same time, increasing the death toll from the pandemic to 2,581.
The recovery count rose to 1, 10,098 after another 1,373 patients were discharged from the hospitals in the past 24 hours, Nasima said.
She also informed that a total of 10,923 samples were tested at 80 authorized laboratories across the country during the time.
Among the total infections, 54.49 percent patients have recovered while 1.28 percent died so far since the first COVID-19 positive cases were reported in the country on March 8, the health official said.
Bangladesh confirmed the first coronavirus death on March 18, ten days after the detection of the first COVID-19 cases.
Ruling out the shortage of beds and ICUs for the COVID-19 patients, Nasima said there are 6125 beds and 142 ICUs in 16 COVID-19 dedicated hospitals in Dhaka city.
The country has a total of 14,720 beds and 379 ICUs for the COVID-19 patients, shr said, adding there is no scarcity of ICUs and beds in the hospital for COVID-19 patients.
The health officials urged healthcare professionals, journalists and members of the law enforcement agencies and other sections of people, who are performing their duties amid the pandemic, to follow preventive measures strictly to protect themselves from the infection of the deadly virus.
Alongside maintaining health codes, she said, the people should keep their mental health strong through practicing creative works, spending times on entertainment activities and following healthy lifestyle.
Nasima dubbed Dhaka, Narayanganj and Chattogram as COVID-19 “hotspots” because the maximum numbers of cases were detected in the three cities.
Among the 34 deaths, 29 are male and five female, Nasima said adding, one is in his 20s, one in his 30s, one in his 40s, 15 in their 50s, five in their 60s, 10 in their 70s and one in his 80s.
According to the division-wise data, 14 deaths took place in Dhaka division six in Khulna and five in Rajshahi division while rests are in other divisions.
Of the total 2,581 deaths, 1,269 are in Dhaka Division, 658 in Chattogram division, 136 in Rajshahi division, 156 in Khulna division, 98 in Barishal division, 120 in Sylhet division, 87 in Rangpur division and 57 in Mymensingh division.
She said a total of 10,17,674 samples have so far been tested since the detection of the first COVID-19 cases in the country.
The DGHS said 1,68,78,398 people received healthcare services from hotline mobile numbers and health web portals as the government formed a group of medical professionals to provide emergency health services.
To receive information and treatment facilities on COVID-19, the contact hotline and mobile numbers are 16263; 333; 10655 and 01944333222.
As of July 18, 2020, 11.37 GMT, 600,133 have died so far from the COVID-19 outbreak and there are 14,221,752 currently 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.