Dhaka, Jan 1 – Bangladesh recorded another 17 deaths from coronavirus in the last 24 hours until Friday morning, pushing up the national tally to 7,576.
“The mortality rate is 1.47 percent while the recovery rate is 89.15 percent,” the Directorate General of Health Services said in a handout.
With 990 new cases, the caseload now stands at 514,500 but 4,58,656 of them have recovered – 1,197 in the last 24 hours.
The government has been warning of a second wave of infection in the winter and urging the people to properly follow health rules.
Bangladesh confirmed its first Covid-19 cases on March 8 and the first death on March 18. So far, 3,239,701 tests have been conducted – including 12,103 in the last 24 hours.
Among the latest victims, 10 are men and seven are women. Sixteen of them died at hospitals – 12 of them in Dhaka alone.
Dhaka has recorded 54.95 percent of the fatalities, followed by Chattogram (18.64) and Khulna (7.02).
Global Covid-19 situation
Globally, the number of confirmed Covid-19 cases surpassed 83.3 million in the morning with 1,817,531 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU).
The US remains the worst-hit country with a national tally approaching 20 million and a death toll of 354,736.
Neighbouring India has the second-highest number of cases in the world. Until Friday morning, the country’s caseload swelled to 10,266,674 with 148,738 fatalities.
WHO approves Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine
The UN health agency has approved the emergency use of Prizer and BioNTech’s Covid-19 vaccine.
Regulatory experts convened by the World Health Organization (WHO) from around the world and UN agency’s own teams reviewed the data found on Thursday that it met WHO’s must-have criteria for safety and efficacy – with its benefits offsetting any potential risks.
“This is a very positive step towards ensuring global access to COVID-19 vaccines,” said Dr Mariângela Simão, WHO Assistant-Director General for Access to Medicines and Health Products.
Last week, the UK authorised the emergency use of a vaccine developed by Oxford and AstraZeneca. The developers hope it would become the “vaccine for the world”.
Because of its low cost, availability and ease of use, the vaccine is expected to be relied on in many countries.
The company says it will sell the vaccine for $2.5 a dose and plans to manufacture up to 3 billion doses by the end of this year.
Last month, Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam said Bangladesh would get 30 million doses for 15 million people by the end of this January or early next February. The country would get another 60 million doses for 30 million people by May-June. – UNB
