Bangladesh recorded 1,018 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours till Wednesday morning, showing a sharp rise in the number of daily infections.
Seven Coronavirus-related deaths were reported during the period, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The daily infection rate jumped to 5.98 percent from 5.13 percent on Tuesday. But the mortality rate remained unchanged at 1.54 percent for the past few weeks, the DGHS said in a handout.
With the latest figure, the Covid-19 fatalities climbed to 8496 and total infections to 553,105, the handout added.
Besides, it said, 1,264 people recovered from the virus infections during the period. So far, 506,613 patients (91.59 percent) have recovered.
Bangladesh reported its first cases on March 8, 2020 and the first death on March 18 in the same year.
Authorities have so far tested 4,197,970 samples, including 17,032 in the past 24 hours.
Vaccination drive in Bangladesh
Bangladesh launched its nationwide Covid-19 vaccination drive on February 7.
By Monday, 39,06,500 people received the first dose of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. The second dose has to be taken between 8 and 12 weeks of the first one.
The government is providing the vaccine for free. It signed an agreement with India’s Serum Institute for acquiring 30 million doses of the vaccine.
The institute will provide five million doses every month between January and June.
Those who are 40 or above can register for getting the jab at www.surokkha.gov.bd as the on-spot registration system has been revoked.
Health Minister Zahid Maleque has said the age limit for getting the vaccine will be revised once more doses are available in the country.
