With 230 deaths, Bangladesh's daily Covid-19 toll hits another daily record

DHAKA: Bangladesh on Sunday reported 230 deaths from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, the highest single-day toll since the pandemic began, as health officials warned that the situation could deteriorate further in the coming weeks.

The number of COVID-19 cases reached 1,021,189 after 11,874 people tested positive in the last 24 hours in the country, said a spokesman for the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

"These two figures are so far the highest in terms of deaths and infection cases recorded in a single day…We do not expect the situation to improve in next few weeks," the spokesman said.

Bangladesh registered 230 new deaths from COVID-19 in a day, taking the total toll to 16,419, the spokesman said.

The new record surpassed the previous high of 212 on Friday.

The new hotspot Khulna reported 66 deaths, the highest among the eight divisions, followed by Dhaka with 56 deaths, Chittagong 39 and Rajshahi 26, Rangpur 22, Barisal and Sylhet 8 each, and Mymensingh 5.

The single-day deaths had exceeded the 200-mark on July 7.

The country has witnessed above 200 deaths for the third consecutive day on Sunday.

The fatality rate on Sunday rose to 1.61 per cent, which was 1.60 per cent on Saturday, according to DGHS data.

"The existing (Delta) variant is not causing deaths of elderly people alone but also claiming lives of the young people as well,” DGHS spokesperson Robed Amin said.

He said the situation would take a turn for the worse in the next one week if the virus transmission cannot be brought under control.

Bangladesh's daily case positivity rate, however, fell to 29.67 per cent from Saturday's 31.46 per cent as 40,015 samples were tasted during the period.

On Friday, the health authorities proposed enforcement of a nationwide curfew as the ongoing shutdown appeared not adequate to contain the virus.

Hundreds of people and vehicle owners have been fined for defying movement restrictions in the past several days as authorities deployed mobile courts as well.

A senior DGHS official said that a 15-day countrywide curfew could have been the best move to contain the situation.

"This (pandemic) is a war and in war you do not consider the human rights factor," said the official on the condition of anonymity.

Bangladesh is currently facing a renewed surge in COVID-19 cases and deaths, prompting the government to impose its harshest lockdown yet.