Bangladesh logs 69 new virus deaths, 1,359 cases in a day

Bangladesh has registered 69 new fatalities from the coronavirus in a day, taking the death toll to 11,579.

The caseload rose by 1,359 in a 24-hour count on Sunday to 760,584, according to data released by the government.

Another 2,657 people recovered from the illness through treatment at home and in hospital care, bringing the tally of recoveries to 687,328.

As many as 14,158 samples were tested across the country in the last 24 hours, yielding a positivity rate of 9.6 percent.

The latest official figures put the recovery rate at 90.21 percent, while the mortality rate stands at 1.52 percent.

Worldwide, the number of new coronavirus cases has shot upward since the beginning of March, more than doubling in two months. For the past two weeks, new global cases have exceeded their previous high point in early January. The average daily rate of new cases has now been above 800,000 for more than a week.

The increase in cases is largely being driven by the uncontrolled outbreak in India, where new cases have risen sharply for the past month and show no signs of abating.

India recorded more than 400,000 new COVID-19 cases for the first time on Saturday as it battles a devastating second wave, and the country's massive new vaccination drive was hampered in some areas by shortages of the shots. India now accounts for more than 40% of the world’s new cases.