The Khulna Division, a new coronavirus hotspot, has seen 32 deaths from COVID-19 in a day. Sixteen people have died at a Rajshahi hospital’s coronavirus unit, while eight others have died of the disease in Jhenaidah. Bagerhat, meanwhile, is preparing to impose a lockdown in the face of a surge in cases.
The pandemic has taken a grim turn in the Khulna Division, as the death toll seems to break records every day. In the past 24 hours to 6 am on Wednesday, 32 people have died in the division, while another 903 new cases have been detected, said Rasheda Sultana, a director of the Directorate General of Health Services, reports bdnews24.com.
Since the start of the pandemic, 47,878 cases of the coronavirus have been detected in the 10 districts of the Khulna Division. The death toll in the division stands at 896, while the number of recoveries is 35,175.
A district-wise breakdown found that Khulna had seen 13,569 cases of the coronavirus, 228 deaths and 10,227 recoveries.
16 DEATHS AT RAJSHAHI HOSPITAL
Sixteen people have died at the Rajshahi Medical College Hospital’s COVID unit in a day.
Among the 11 men and five women who died, eight tested positive for the coronavirus, while the others were displaying symptoms consistent with the disease in hospital care, said RMCH Director Brig Gen Shameem Yazdany. The deaths were reported in the 24 hours to 6 am on Wednesday, according to bdnews24.com’s Rajshahi correspondent.
Eight of the dead were from Rajshahi, three from Chapainawabganj, two from Natore, two from Naogaon and one from Jhenaidah.
Three of them died in intensive care. Eight were over 61 years of age, three were between 51 and 60 and five were between 31 and 50.
A total of 245 people have died at the RMCH coronavirus unit since the start of June.
Another 60 patients were admitted to the hospital in the past 24 hours, said Yazdany. Of them, 44 were from Rajshahi, six from Chapainawabganj, two from Natore, five from Naogaon, two from Pabna and one from Jhenaidah. Forty-two people left the hospital after recovery.
A ward with 48 beds and central oxygen facilities was added to the COVID unit, Yazdany said, raising the unit’s total capacity to 357.
As of 6 am on Wednesday, 410 patients have been admitted to the unit. Some patients are lying on the floor or on the hospital’s verandahs.
Of these patients, 274 are from Rajshahi, 60 from Chapainawabganj, 26 from Natore, 34 from Naogaon, nine from Pabna, three from Kushtia and two from Chuadanga.
POSITIVITY RATE REMAINS STEADY
Though the number of deaths has risen, the number of new cases identified in Rajshahi at the hospital’s labs has remained almost the same.
Of the 457 tests conducted, 151 came back positive, for a positivity rate of 33.05 per cent. The rate on Monday was 33.51 per cent.
The labs conducted a total of 554 tests on Tuesday and 176 came back positive, Yazdany said.
Of 67 tests conducted on people from Chapainawabganj, 25 came back positive, for a positivity rate of 25.78 per cent.
A lockdown was imposed in the Rajshahi City Corporation area from Jun 11 after cases and deaths rose in the area. It was initially supposed to last one week, but has since been extended to Jun 24.
8 DIE IN JHENAIDAH IN A DAY
Eight people infected with COVID-19 have died in Jhenaidah in a day.
They passed away at various hospitals and at home between Tuesday morning and Wednesday morning, said district Civil Surgeon Selina Begum.
Of 227 coronavirus tests conducted on people in the district, 117 tested positive, she said, for a positivity rate of 51.55 per cent. This raises the total caseload in the district to 638. The death toll in the area has hit 80.
The district has announced a lockdown from Tuesday in light of the rising cases. Despite the new restrictions, some people were still seen on the road in the district city on Wednesday. Police have set up check posts around the city to try to curtail unnecessary traffic.
LOCKDOWN IN BAGERHAT FROM THURSDAY
The Bagerhat District Administration has indicated that it may impose a week-long lockdown starting Thursday to try and curb the coronavirus pandemic.
“The coronavirus infection has been spreading at an alarming rate in Bagerhat for the past three weeks,” said Bagerhat Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Azizur Rahman.
He said he raised the issue at a meeting with the Cabinet Division on Monday night. In light of that discussion, the district’s Coronavirus Prevention Committee will meet later in the day to discuss what is to be done about the situation.
Azizur suggested the meeting could decide on the imposition of a week-long lockdown starting Thursday.
Two people have died of the coronavirus in the district in the 24 hours to 6 am on Wednesday, says Bagerhat Civil Surgeon Dr KM Humayun Kabir. Of the 110 tests performed, 51 came back positive, for a positivity rate of 45 per cent. It is 4 percentage points lower than the rate in the previous 24-hour period.
Mongla, the area at highest risk, saw nine positive tests out of 26 performed. The positivity rate was 34.61 per cent, an 11 percentage point drop from the previous 24-hour period.