Bangladesh records 39 new virus deaths, cases approach 250,000

Bangladesh has registered 39 new fatalities from the novel coronavirus in a day, raising the death toll to 3,306.

The tally of infections surged to 249,651 after 2,977 positive tests for COVID-19 were confirmed in the 24 hours to 8 am Thursday, according to the health directorate.

Another 2,073 patients recovered from the disease through treatment at home and in hospital care in the same period, bringing the total to 143,824, according to government data.

The official figures put the recovery rate in Bangladesh at 57.61 percent, while the mortality rate currently stands at 1.32 percent.

A total of 12,708 samples were tested at authorised labs across the country over a 24-hour period, with 23.43 percent returning positive results.

Globally, over 18.81 million people have been infected by the novel coronavirus and 707,761 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.