Economy reopens amid record number of Covid-19 deaths, infections 

Bangladesh has recorded the highest single-day spike in both deaths from Covid-19 and new cases of the deadly virus.

Forty people have died from the novel coronavirus and 2,545 more people tested positive for the virus in the last 24 hours ending on Sunday morning.

The country's death toll from Covid-19 has risen to 650 and the number of total cases to 47,153.

The double record – both in the death toll and infection rate – came on the day when Bangladesh reopened its economy, allowing offices and businesses to run and public transportation to operate after a two-month shutdown. 

On the Asian subcontinent, India has the lowest daily infection rate of 4.9 percent, but the country has extended its lockdown by one more month.

In contrast, Bangladesh has the highest daily infection rate of 15.3 percent in the region, and despite that grim picture, the country has decided not to extend the shutdown.

Bangladesh also trails the sub-continent regarding the recovery rate from the virus, and is the fourth-lowest among South Asian countries – with just 20.7 percent.

Sri Lanka and India lead the recovery rate with 49.4 percent and 47.6 percent, respectively, according to the Covid-19 world situation report. 

The situation will likely take a turn for the worse in Bangladesh as people started boarding buses, trains and launches on Sunday.  

Experts have expressed their concerns that the death rate from this virus will increase further with the massive spread of infection in the coming days.

Professor Muzaherul Huq, former adviser to the World Health Organization's Southeast Asia region, said the government should not have taken the reopening decision right now.

"It should have waited for a few more days until the infection rate was under control," he told The Business Standard. "Due to this [reopening] decision, the infection rate will increase considerably, and that will go out of our control as our hospitals are not ready to treat the patients." 

He said, "From the very beginning, we did not take the right decisions at the right times."

Meanwhile, the record number of daily infections was found after testing 11,876 samples in 52 labs across the country.

At a daily briefing on the Covid-19 pandemic, Professor Nasima Sultana, additional director general of the Directorate General of Health Services, said among the dead, 33 are male and seven female.

"Of the deceased, 28 are from Dhaka division, eight from Chattogram, two from Khulna and one, each, from Rangpur and Rajshahi."

Meanwhile, 406 patients recovered from the virus during the time, increasing the number of cured patients to 9,781.

Dr Nasima said, "The authorities placed 391 new individuals suspected of having Covid-19 into isolation, bringing the total number to 5,794 after 3,016 left."

"The country is capable of accommodating 13,284 people at different isolation wards and 31,991 people at 626 institutional quarantine facilities," she added.