Hopes of many shattered as Covid-19 worsens 

Thirty-four more Covid-19 deaths and 3,504 infections were reported in the last 24 hours ending at 8am on Saturday.

With this, the death toll from the virus rose to 1,695 and infections to 133,978. 

Of the deceased, 32 were men and two women. 

"Thirteen of them were from Dhaka division, 10 from Chattogram, four each from Rajshahi and Sylhet, two from Rangpur, and one from Khulna," said Professor Dr Nasima Sultana, additional director general of the Directorate General of Health Services, in a daily online bulletin.

"Thirty patients died at different hospitals and four at their homes," Dr Nasima said.

Also, 1,185 patients recovered during the time, taking the tally of recovered to 54,318.

In 58 labs across the country, 15,157 samples were tested in that time and the infection rate was found to be 23.12 percent.

Dr Nasima also said, "40.54 percent of Covid-19 patients – both symptomatic and asymptomatic – have so far recovered while 1.27 percent have died." 

The total infection rate in the country stands at 18.81 percent now.

Bangladesh is walking towards an uncertain future as the Covid-19 crisis is worsening every day.

Companies across the country are opting for furloughs and layoffs while the salaries of many – who have managed to keep their jobs – are being chopped.

The people who are losing jobs are getting into big trouble to get a new one as fresh employment opportunities are not being created and the old ones are being curtailed.

Some of these people also have little or no other income or savings to fall back on. However, reopening is unlikely to begin soon, the experts have said.

Also, many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have already shut their businesses. 

However, this is a vital sector of the country which generates 86 percent of employment in the industry sector and contributes to one-fourth of the economic output.

The sector has lost about Tk92,000 crore during March-May of this year. Also, many more SMEs will shut soon due to continuous losses. 

Unable to take the hit of the economic fallouts, many people have left the capital permanently, and are still leaving it, with the uncertainty of livelihood hanging over them.

So far, the deadly virus has killed 497,255 people globally and infected 9,919,525.