Bangladesh records 21 new virus deaths, cases top 390,000

Bangladesh has registered 21 new fatalities from the novel coronavirus in a daily count, taking the tally so far to 5,681.

The caseload surged to 390,206 after 1,637 people tested positive for COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8 am Monday, the government said in a statement.

Another 1,627 patients recovered from the disease through treatment at home and in hospital care. It brings the total to 305,599.

A total of 15,146 samples were tested at 110 authorised labs across the country in the last 24 hours, yielding a positivity rate of 10.81 percent, according to data released by the health directorate.

The official figures put the recovery rate at 78.32 percent while the mortality rate stands at 1.46 percent.

Globally, over 40.05 million people have been infected by the novel coronavirus and 1.11 million 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.