Global Covid cases near 260 million

A medical worker in protective suit collects a swab from a man to conduct free nucleic acid tests for residents in the residential compound, after new cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) were found in Urumqi, Xinjiang province, China on 19 July.Reuters

The overall number of Covid cases is fast approaching 260 million amid the global race to vaccinate masses against the infectious disease, UNB reports.

According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 259,944,766 while the death toll from the virus reached 5,181,033, Friday morning.

The US has recorded 48,126,373 cases to date and more than 775,785 people have died so far from the virus in the country, as per the university data.

Brazil, which has been experiencing a new wave of cases since January, registered 22,055,608 cases as of Thursday, while its Covid death toll rose to 613,697.

India’s Covid-19 tally rose to 34,546,926 on Thursday, as 9,119 new cases were registered in 24 hours across the country, as per the federal health ministry data.

Besides, 396 deaths due to the pandemic since Tuesday morning took the total death toll to 466,980.

The World Health Organization’s Europe office says projections show its 53-country region could face another 700,000 deaths in the pandemic by next spring, topping two million in total, reports AP.

WHO Europe, which is based in Copenhagen, Denmark, also cited growing evidence of a decline in protection against infection and mild disease through vaccines, and said a “booster dose” should be given as a priority to the most vulnerable populations—including people with weakened immune systems—as well as people over age 60 and healthcare workers.

The UN health agency’s international headquarters in Geneva, however, has repeatedly called for a moratorium on the use of boosters through year-end so that doses can be made available for many developing countries that have faced a severe lack of the Covid vaccines compared to the rich world.

Situation in Bangladesh

Bangladesh reported nine more Covid-linked deaths and 237 fresh cases in 24 hours till Thursday morning.

With this, the daily case positivity rate declined to 1.25 per cent on Thursday from Wednesday’s 1.49 per cent, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

On Wednesday, the country reported three Covid-related deaths for the second day in a row, along with 312 fresh cases.

With the fresh numbers, the total fatalities rose to 27,970 while the caseload mounted to 1,575,184.

Among the latest deceased, three were men and six women. Six of them were from Dhaka division, while one each was from Chattogram, Khulna and Rangpur divisions.

However, the mortality rate remained static at 1.78 per cent.

The fresh cases were detected after testing 18,888 samples, the directorate said.

Besides, the recovery rate stood at 97.74 per cent with the recovery of 360 more patients during the 24-hour period.

On Saturday, Bangladesh logged zero Covid-linked deaths with 178 cases.

So far, 35,690,258 people have fully been vaccinated in the country, while 57,124,899 received the first dose as of Wednesday, according to the directorate.