The daily death toll, the second highest so far, has increased the COVID-19 fatalities to 14,778 while the number of positive cases increased to 930,042 after the country recorded 8,483 new cases in the last 24 hours, said a spokesman of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

Bangladesh recorded its highest single-day deaths on Thursday when the virus claimed 143 lives. The country reported highest infection cases of 8,822 on Wednesday as the situation was worsening since the past one week.

According to World Health Organisation (WHO), if the infection rate remains below five per cent for straight two weeks in a country, the situation could be called “within control”, but in Bangladesh the figure remained above 20 per cent for the past several days.

In some districts bordering India and particularly in southwestern Khulna region, the infection rate exceeded 30 per cent.

“But we are yet to see the worse,” Health Ministry’s advisory committee member Abu Faisal said as an expert group last month predicted that Bangladesh could witness the peak of COVID-19 second wave by the second week of July.

Several public health experts said the current situation was the outcome of the people’s massive movement, leaving their current locations for village homes as the government announced a nation-wide lockdown.

Bangladesh on June 25 closed all offices and businesses other than the emergency services for two weeks under a nationwide shutdown.