Bangladesh passes 1 million total Covid-19 cases
Dhaka, Jul 9 (EFE).- Bangladesh Friday became the latest country to report more than one million total Covid-19 cases since the pandemic began, as authorities struggle to contain a new wave of infections.
The country’s Directorate General of Health Services recorded 11,324 new cases Friday, for an aggregate 1,000,543 since the first case was reported on March 8, 2020.
Bangladesh registered 212 deaths in the past 24 hours, its highest single-day Covid-19 fatality rate to date.
A total of 16,004 people have died to Covid-19 in the country, some 1,500 of which have been reported in early July.
Authorities on June 28 imposed a nationwide lockdown and deployed the army and paramilitary forces on July 1 to tighten control.
“The virus has already spread, so we don’t expect an immediate result from the lockdown,” said Ahmedul Kabir, a member of the national advisory committee on Covid-19.
“Cases may continue to rise despite the lockdown. Those who are already infected will continue to come to the surface. Maybe within two weeks the number of cases will start to fall,” he added.
The country has vaccinated over 10 million people so far, about 6% of its population.
Authorities said residents are currently being jabbed with the Sinopharm and Pfizer vaccines, with AstraZeneca doses also available in a limited number of centres.
Bangladesh also received over 2.5 million doses of Moderna vaccines from the United States, delivered through the WHO-run Covax facility in early July, although the country is yet to start distributing Moderna injections.
