500 deaths in less than 2 weeks

Deaths from Covid-19 are quickly rising in Bangladesh, with the country reporting 500 fatalities in just the last 12 days.

On Monday, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) recorded 38 more deaths from the novel coronavirus, raising the total death toll to 1,502.

DGHS data shows that the initial 501 deaths were reported over a span of 79 days. The number jumped to 1,000 in the next 15 days. Now, it has risen to 1,502 in the last 12 days. 

This suggests that the virus is now killing more people within shorter periods of time.

Bangladesh also reported 3,480 new infections over a 24-hour period, with the total number of infections standing at 115,786 as of Monday at 8am.

"Among the dead, 33 were men and five were women. Of them, 15 were from Dhaka, 12 from Chattogram, four from Barishal, two, each, from Rajshahi, Khulna and Mymensingh, and one from Sylhet," DGHS Additional Director General Professor Dr Nasima Sultana disclosed during the daily Covid-19 health bulletin.

Of the deceased, 25 patients died at different hospitals, 12 in their respective homes, and one was diagnosed with the virus posthumously, she added.

Moreover, 1,678 patients recovered from Covid-19 between Sunday 8am and Monday 8am, increasing the count of recovered novel coronavirus patients to 46,755.

The authorities tested 15,555 samples in 62 labs across the country. A lab of the Dhaka University is also set to begin testing samples from Tuesday.

Although the lab had tested samples a few days earlier, it stopped testing for unknown reasons.

However, experts say that despite a rise in the number of testing labs, the number of samples being tested is not rising accordingly.

Around 40.38 percent of novel coronavirus patients – both symptomatic and asymptomatic – have recovered in Bangladesh so far, while 1.30 percent have died.

"The infection rate is 22.37 percent," Dr Nasima stated.

Unlike the rising number of infections and deaths, however, the number of intensive care units (ICUs) and dialysis beds for treating Covid-19 patients has remained the same for the past few weeks.

The country currently has 399 ICUs and 112 dialysis beds for novel coronavirus patients.

So far, the virus has killed 470,698 people globally and infected 9,045,604.