Bangladesh virus toll crosses 500 as record 1,975 test positive

The number of patients recovered in the last 24 hours is 433. With this the total number of recovered patients as of Monday is 7,334

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Bangladesh saw another surge in novel coronavirus infection cases on Monday when the health authorities reported 1,975 new detections testing 9,451 samples, in the last 24 hours.

With the new cases, the highest number of detection in a day, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country now stands at 35,585.

The number of samples collected by that time was 11,541.

“During the period, 21 more people died of coronavirus infections, taking the death tally to 501," professor Nasima Sultana, the additional director general of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), said at a regular online briefing.

Among the deceased, 16 were male and nine female, professor Nasima Sultana added.

She further said 11 of the deceased are from Dhaka division, nine from Chattogram and one from Rangpur.

The number of patients recovered in the last 24 hours is 433. With this the total number of recovered patients as of Monday is 7,334.

The DGHS additional director general further said the total number of samples tested in the country so far is 253,034. Currently, the test are being done in 48 laboratories, including 25 in Dhaka, she added.

UNB adds: The global death toll from the virus crossed 345,000 on Monday morning, according to the Centre for System Science and Engineering of the Johns Hopkins University.

The number of confirmed cases has topped 5.4 million – 1.6 million in the US alone.

China, where the first coronavirus cases were reported, did not record any local transmission on its mainland on Sunday, the health authorities said Monday.

The World Health Organisation declared the coronavirus crisis a pandemic on 11 March.

Bangladesh confirmed its first coronavirus cases on 8 March and the first death on 18 March.

To tackle the situation, the government extended general holidays further until 30 May. The public transport services will also remain suspended until then.

But amid the rising number of coronavirus cases, thousands of people left the capital city Dhaka for spending Eid-ul-Fitr holidays at home with their families.

Experts said this mass exodus will worsen the coronavirus situation in the country in the coming days.