Bangladesh is 15th most affected as global COVID-19 deaths cross 800,000, cases top 23m

The global death toll from the coronavirus has crossed 800,000 as confirmed cases surged past 23 million, with Bangladesh overtaking Pakistan to become 15th on the list of countries with most COVID-19 patients.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 22 August 2020, 05:34 PM
Updated : 22 August 2020, 09:21 PM

Bangladesh kept the number of daily infections below 1,000 in the first two and a half months after the detection of the first patients in March.

But the rate began going up when the government eased restrictions ahead of Eid-ul-Fitr in the last week of May.

As the shops, factories and offices reopened, the daily infection rate reached 4,000. The rate still hovers around 3,000 with around 30 deaths.

Bill de Blasio, mayor of New York, demonstrates a non-contact thermal thermometer with Richard Carranza, chancellor of the New York City Department of Education, during a news conference at New Bridges Elementary School, amid the coronavirus outbreak. REUTERS

Until Saturday, the tally of confirmed cases reached 294,625 with a total of 3,907 deaths from COVID-19, according to the government.

Pakistan’s number of confirmed cases stood at 292.174 with 6,321 deaths, according to the latest data from Johns Hopkins University.

The number of confirmed cases detected in Bangladesh in the last daily count was 2,265 with 46 deaths. Pakistan’s last daily count was 586 cases and 12 deaths.

India reported a record daily jump on Saturday, bringing the total of cases near 3 million and piling pressure on authorities to curb huge gatherings as a major religious festival began.

The US is the hardest-hit country, accounting for almost 5.6 million cases and over 175,000 fatalities, followed by Brazil, Mexico, India and the UK as per the number of deaths.

New York City has managed to contain the virus as it reopens, but risks an increase in cases later in the year, reports Reuters.

The scale of the COVID-19 pandemic in Mexico is "under-represented" and "under-recognised" and testing is limited, the World Health Organization's Dr Mike Ryan said.

South Korea said it will roll out tougher social distancing guidelines to curb the spread of coronavirus nationwide as it battles a new outbreak spreading from the capital.

Transporters taking passengers on a launch even after it is full to the brim. Photo: Mahmud Zaman Ovi

Saudi Arabia’s public sector employees will return to on-site work on Aug 30, state TV reported, quoting the human resources ministry, further relaxing coronavirus restrictions.

South Africa's confirmed COVID-19 cases have surpassed 600,000, the health ministry said on Friday, although the number of new cases has been declining since a peak in July.

Lebanon imposed a partial lockdown for two weeks starting on Friday to counter COVID-19 infections that have doubled since the catastrophic explosion at the Beirut port.

Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.