Rajshahi, a new pandemic hotspot, overtakes Dhaka in fresh COVID cases

Rajshahi has recorded a higher tally of COVID-19 cases than Dhaka and Khulna over a 24-hour period as it emerged as a new hotspot for the coronavirus pandemic in Bangladesh.

The district saw 673 new cases compared to 544 in both Dhaka and Khulna, according to the latest government data released on Tuesday.

Dhaka still has the highest overall caseload of 9,004 followed by Rajshahi with 4,137.

Rajshahi also tied Dhaka for the most deaths from the illness in the last 24 hours with 11 fatalities. Chattogram registered seven deaths followed by Khulna's six and Rangpur's five.

Rajshahi has been dealing with a marked spike in COVID cases over the past few days. The positivity rate of the 386 coronavirus tests conducted at two labs at Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital was 45.07 percent on Monday, as 174 people tested positive. The positivity rate for tests was 41.29 percent on Sunday, 50.27 percent on Saturday and 49.43 percent on Friday.

The district authorities are currently enforcing indefinite restrictions on people’s movement and economic activity to contain the virus. As part of the curbs, shops and stores will be closed after 5 pm from Friday. Mobile courts and political leaders are also working to enforce restrictions on the streets.

Bangladesh recorded 2,322 new COVID-19 cases, the highest daily count since Apr 29, on Tuesday taking the tally of infections to 815,282. The death toll jumped to 12,913 after 44 people died from the illness in a 24-hour count, the most in a month.

Globally, over 173.64 million people have been infected by the novel coronavirus and 3.73 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.