Covid-19: Bangladesh reports 19 deaths, 1234 new cases

Dhaka, Dec 24 (UNB) – Amid global alarm after detection of new strains of Coronavirus in the United Kingdom and South Africa, Bangladesh’s Covid-19 fatalities rose to 7,378 until Thursday with 19 more deaths in the past 24 hours.

The health authorities also reported 1,234 new Covid-19 cases during the same period, taking the country’s total caseload to 506,102.
The death rate stood at 1.46%, the Directorate General of Health Services said.
So far, 446,690 patients – 88.26 % – have recovered with 2,345 in the past 24 hours.
Bangladesh reported its first cases on March 8. The infection number reached the 5,00000-mark on December 20.
The first death was reported on March 18 and the death toll exceeded 7,000 on December 12.
So far, 3,135,653 tests have been carried out, including 13,227 new ones. And the overall infection rate stood at 16.14 %.
Bangladesh is seeing 2,971.71 infections, 2,622.86 recoveries, and 43.32 deaths per million.
Bangladesh will get Covid-19 vaccines for some 4.5 crore people by May-June next year, Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam said Monday.
“We’ll get three crore doses of vaccine for 1.5 crore people at the end of January or early February next year and six more crore doses for three crore people by May-June,” he told reporters after the Cabinet meeting held at the Secretariat.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina chaired the meeting, joining it virtually from her official residence Ganobhaban.
The Prime Minister directed to implement the ‘No Mask No Service’ policy strictly, said the Cabinet Secretary.
Seven- day quarantine for UK returnees
Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Wednesday said UK returnees must be there in quarantine for seven days as a new strain of coronavirus has been detected there.
“A seven-day quarantine is mandatory for those who are returning from the UK and then they will have to undergo Covid-19 test before release,” he said while inaugurating a PCR Lab and antigen-test at Ashkona camp.
Global situation
The COVID-19 cases worldwide have exceeded 78.6 million with over 1.7 million fatalities on Thursday, according to the latest tally from Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
The total case count reached 78,623,752 while the total death toll rose to 1,729,166.
The cases in the US topped 18.4 million, while the death toll climbed to 326,088.
There are no nationwide travel restrictions in the United States, but health officials have urged people to stay home and limit gatherings. Some states require travellers to get tested or quarantine reports AP.
Many people are still grieving — or worried about loved ones in hospitals or nursing homes as the virus surges anew. But some who have survived sickness — and everything else that 2020 has thrown at them — are looking to rejoice.
Brazil has registered 189,220 deaths from COVID-19, after reporting 961 more deaths in the previous 24 hours on Wednesday.
According to the Ministry of Health, tests detected 46,696 new infections in the same period, raising the nationwide tally to 7,365,517.
In India, the country’s total caseload reached 10,099,066 with 146,444 fatalities on Thursday.
New Variant of Coronavirus
Reports from Britain and South Africa of new coronavirus strains that seem to spread more easily are causing alarm, but virus experts say it’s unclear if that’s the case or whether they pose any concern for vaccines or cause more severe disease.
Viruses naturally evolve as they move through the population, some more than others. It’s one reason we need a fresh flu shot each year.
New variants, or strains, of the virus that causes COVID-19 have been seen almost since it was first detected in China nearly a year ago.
On Saturday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced new restrictions because of the new strain. Several European Union countries and Canada were banning or limiting some flights from the U.K. to try to limit any spread. – Agencies