Covid cases reach 10,888, positivity rate 26.37%

Bangladesh has recorded 10,888 new Covid cases in the last 24 hours till 8 am Thursday, the highest daily count since 10 August last year when 11,164 people were diagnosed with the virus in a single day.

Aligned with the infection surge, the current positivity rate rose to 26.37% from 25.11% a day ago. Also, four people died from Covid-19 in 24 hours. The health officials tested 41,292 samples in the past 24 hours across the country.

Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Thursday said all social events, including weddings, have to stop under the 11-point restrictions announced by the government to control the spread of coronavirus.

Bangladesh has so far registered 28,180 deaths and 16,53,182 infections since the outbreak in 2020.

Health minister seeks cooperation of DCs 

The deputy commissioners around the country have been instructed to take legal actions against those who violate the health guidelines set by the government to help control Covid-19 infections, said Health Minister Zahid Maleque while talking to the media on the third day of the Deputy Commissioners' Conference on Thursday.

The health minister said, "All types of events, including weddings, and other social events should be stopped now, with screening at land ports, sea ports, and airports. They [DCs] should make sure that these actions are carried out properly.

"We instructed the DCs to work with the local representatives to control the rising Covid infections in the country by making sure the 11-point restriction imposed by the government is thoroughly followed," the minister added.

They have also been directed to make sure no one gets out of quarantine and infects others, he said.

US donates 3.3 lakh vaccine doses under Covax

The United States has donated 337,350 doses of Janssen, also known as Johnson and Johnson, Covid-19 vaccine to Bangladesh under the Covax facility. The Janssen vaccine is a single-dose vaccine, so one shot can fully vaccinate one person.

This brings the total number of US vaccine donations to more than 28.6 million with many millions more on the way, said United States Agency for International Development (Usaid) Bangladesh in a Facebook post.

"With infections on the rise, we will stand together with Bangladesh to provide life-saving vaccines alongside training and logistics support to get shots in arms across the country", added the statement.