Bangladesh posts record 8,364 virus cases in a day, another 104 die

Bangladesh has registered 8,364 new cases in a day, a record high, taking the total caseload to 896,770.

It also registered 104 deaths from COVID-19 in a day, taking the total death toll from the disease to 14,276, according to the latest government released on Monday.

A division-wide breakdown showed Khulna, a recent hotspot, had the highest number of deaths, with 35. Dhaka saw 27 deaths, while Chattogram saw 19 deaths.

Dhaka logged the highest daily COVID tally, registering 3,998 new cases. Khulna saw 1,464 cases, followed by Rajshahi at 883 and Chattogram at 811.

Nationwide, another 3,570 people recovered from the illness, bringing the total number of recoveries to 807,673.

As many as 35,059 samples were tested across the country, for a positivity rate of 23.86 percent. The latest figures put the recovery rate at 90.06 percent and the mortality rate at 1.59 percent.

Bangladesh has seen a renewed surge in coronavirus infections and deaths, particularly in the border districts, in June due to the community transmission of the Delta variant of the coronavirus, first found in neighbouring India.

In an effort to fight a rising wave of infections across the country, the government has further tightened health restrictions from Jun 28 to Jul 1.

Globally, over 181.13 million people have been infected by the novel coronavirus and 3.92 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.