The government on Friday in the latest update confirmed 94 new cases of coronavirus, taking the total number of coronavirus or COVID-19 patients to 424. Director of the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) Prof Dr Meerjady Sabrina Flora told a virtual media briefing that six more patients died of the disease.
With that, the number of total deaths stood at 27 in Bangladesh. Only 33 patients have so far recovered from the pandemic disease. With the rise of cases, the government on Friday extended the ongoing closure of all public, private offices and schools up to April 25 to halt the spread of coronavirus.
People have been asked not to leave home after 6pm during the shutdown.
Of the six new deceased, three were from Dhaka, two from Narayanganj and the other from Patuakhali. Five are male and one is female. The government tested highest 1184 samples in the last 24 hours in 16 laboratories including IEDCR, highest samples in a day yet.
Of the total new cases, 69 are male and 25 are female. 37 were from Dhaka, 16 from Narayanganj and the rest are scattered across Bangladesh. Five of them are from Jatrabari in Dhaka, according to IEDCR.
Bangladesh recorded its first case of Covid-19 on March 8. The World Health Organization declared the virus a pandemic on March 11. The disease initially spread slowly in Bangladesh. By the end of March, there were only 51 cases. The cases started rising from the April when the government also ramped up testing. From April 2, they started collecting samples from upazilla level also.
The number of testing went up by the day. For the last couple of days, over 1000 samples were tested each day. On Thursday, the IEDCR confirmed 112 cases, the biggest one-day jump. On Friday, 94 cases were slightly less than the previous day. But the deaths went up. Cases are mostly related to Dhaka and Narayanaganj.
Prof Flora told Bangladesh Post that many of the cases outside were linked with Dhaka and Narayanganj travel or living. She earlier declared Narayanaganj a hotspot. The district is cut off from the rest of the Bangladesh. Over 13000 people are in quarantine currently across Bangladesh.
The global death toll from coronavirus has reached 95,722 as of Friday morning.
There have been 1,603,719 confirmed cases around the world after the highly contagious disease was first reported in China in December last, according to worldometer.
Chinese expert Prof Zhang Wenhong, head of the Center for Infectious Disease of Huashan Hospital of Fudan University in Shanghai, who treated 600 COVID-19 patients, recently suggested Bangladesh to ensure oxygen therapy to the patients for better outcome.
The level of oxygen saturation should be within the range of 92 percent to 96 percent, he had suggested, adding that mild cases should be taken care of properly to prevent them from being moderate or severe case. He also suggested adequate nutrition for coronavirus patients for better outcomes.
