Bangladesh sees first COVID-related death in three days, 10 test positive

The total number of confirmed deaths now stands at 20

Bangladesh has reported one death from COVID-19 in a day, bringing the total number of fatalities this year to 20.

According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), the deceased was a man aged between 61 and 70. He died while undergoing treatment at a government hospital in the Dhaka Division.

In its latest bulletin, the DGHS reported that 10 new cases were detected across the country after testing 199 samples in the 24 hours leading up to Friday morning.

The positivity rate stood at 4.02 percent.

Of the new cases, two were identified from 84 samples in the Dhaka Division, two from nine samples in Mymensingh, six from 66 samples in Chattogram, and seven from 40 samples in Khulna.

Since the start of the pandemic in 2020, Bangladesh has conducted over 15.7 million tests, identifying more than 2.05 million cases.

The country has recorded 29,518 deaths from the virus to date.

The highest annual death toll was reported in 2021 when 20,513 people died.

That followed 7,559 deaths in 2020. In 2022, the toll fell to 1,368, then to 37 in 2023, and 22 in 2024.

The DGHS has issued fresh advisories following a rise in cases of a new sub-variant of the virus in India and other neighbouring countries.

The agency has urged people to avoid non-essential travel to affected countries and instructed all land and airports to step up health screening and surveillance measures.