Bangladesh posts 2,273 new virus cases, 20 deaths in a day

Bangladesh has recorded 2,273 new cases of the coronavirus in a daily count, taking the tally of infections so far to 458,711.

The death toll surged to 6,544 after 20 fatalities were registered in the 24 hours to 8 am Friday, the government said in a statement.

Another 2,223 patients recovered from the disease at home and in hospital care, bringing the total to 373,676.

As many as 16,378 samples were tested at 118 authorised labs in the last 24 hours, yielding a positivity rate of 13.88 percent, according to data released by the health directorate.

The latest official figures put the recovery rate at 81.46 percent, while the mortality rate stands at 1.43 percent.

Globally, over 61.02 million people have been infected by the novel coronavirus and 1.43 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.