The confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus in Bangladesh could double by the end of July, surpassing a 200,000 mark as experts projected 115,000 more cases are likely during this period.
The projections of the government’s experts review committee came at a time when the confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Bangladesh near 100,000.
As of Wednesday, Bangladesh reported some 4,008 new cases and 43 deaths in the span of 24 hours, taking the total number of confirmed cases to 98,489 and fatalities to 1,305.
The detection rate of new patients on Wednesday was recorded at 22.44 percent.
Currently, Bangladesh is witnessing the peak time of the infections and the peak period would continue by the end of July, said Dr Shah Monir Hossain, who heads the government’s eight-strong committee that analyses the pandemic trend in the country.
“About 115,000 more people will be infected with coronavirus during this time. The infection will start to decline in early August and continue to show downward trend gradually,” said Hossain, who is a former director general of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
Dr Hossain mentioned that the projection would depend on the situation. “If the government can implement the zone-based instruction, the projection may match. It will not work if the situation turns back to the way it was before,” he warned.
The former health DG recommended that the number of infection would go down in August only if effective lockdown, following hygiene guidelines and practicing social distance are ensures.
“Or else, the situation will get worse,” he said.
First reported in China’s city of Wuhan late last year, the global coronavirus situation continues to worsen as the virus cases reached 8,152,000 and deaths 441,000 on Wednesday, according to Johns Hopkins University.
According to JHU data, the US has topped the tally with 2,137,731 confirmed coronavirus cases, followed by Brazil and Russia with 923,189 and 544,725 cases as of Wednesday.
Neighboring India has come at the fourth position with 343,091 confirmed while Bangladesh has stood at the eighteenth place.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared the coronavirus crisis a pandemic on March 11.
