Bangladesh logs 6 more Covid fatalities

Bangladesh reported six more Covid-related deaths along with 329 fresh cases in 24 hours till Sunday morning.

Dhaka, Dec 12 :  Bangladesh reported six more Covid-related deaths along with 329 fresh cases in 24 hours till Sunday morning amid the entry of Omicron.

Bangladesh last recorded over 300 daily Covid-cases with 312 cases and three Covid-linked deaths.

With the latest cases, the daily-case positivity rate increased again to 1.52 per cent from Saturday’s 1.13 per cent, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

The total fatalities mounted to 28,028 while the caseload mounted to 15,79, 325, with the number of fresh cases.

Meanwhile, the mortality rate remained static at 1.77 per cent during the period.

Four of the latest deceased were men and two women.

The fresh cases were detected after testing 21,612 samples.

Besides, the recovery rate remained unchanged at 97.77 per cent with the recovery of 288 more patients during the 24-hour period.

On Thursday, Bangladesh again logged zero Covid-related death after nearly three weeks as the pandemic is apparently showing signs of easing.

The country reported this year’s first zero Covid-related death in a single day on November 20 along with 178 infections since the pandemic broke out in Bangladesh in March 2020.

Bangladesh reported the highest number of daily fatalities of 264 on August 5 this year, while the highest daily caseload was 16,230 on July 28 this year.

However, some of the leading public health experts in Bangladesh have warned that the current trend of plummeting Covid-19 cases in Bangladesh could well be the obvious calm before a cataclysmic storm.

Their fears centre around children below 12 who remain out of the vaccine coverage and the elderly people.

These experts fear a slow pace of vaccination, waning vaccine immunity, sheer disregard for Covid-safety protocols, reopening of schools and increased travel may set the stage for another Covid wave in Bangladesh -- a trend many European countries are witnessing now.

Bangladesh on Saturday reported the first two cases of Omicron variant of coronavirus.

“These two infected female patients (cricketers) returned from Zimbabwe recently,” ASM Alamgir, chief scientific officer of the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), told UNB.

He said the Omicron patients are members of the Bangladesh Women's Cricket Team and they do not have any severe symptoms.

However, the two female members of the cricket team have been kept in a hotel for isolation, he added.

The two cricketers tested positive for Covid-19 on December 6.

The women's team recently returned home from Zimbabwe after confirming their participation in the next 50-over World Cup, which will be Bangladesh’s maiden World Cup appearance as well., reports UNB.