Bangladesh logs 3,288 new virus cases, death toll approaches 2,000

Bangladesh has registered 29 new fatalities from the novel coronavirus in a daily count, taking the death toll to 1,997.

The tally of infections surged to 159,679 on the back of 3,288 confirmed cases in the 24 hours to 8am Saturday, DGHS Additional Director General Nasima Sultana said in a media briefing.

 

Another 2,673 infected patients recovered from the disease at home and in hospital care in the same period, raising the total to 70,721. The recovery rate currently stands at 44.29 percent, while the mortality rate is 1.25 percent, according to government data.

As many as 14,787 samples were tested at 64 authorised labs across the country in the last 24 hours, Nasima added.

 

Globally, over 11.08 million people have been infected by the novel coronavirus and 525,391 have died, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.