As many as 148 people have died at the coronavirus unit of Rajshahi Medical College Hospital in the first half of June.
Among the dead, 56 were from Rajshahi district, a recent COVID-19 hotspot, while 69 hailed from Chapainawabganj. The rest were residents of Naogaon, Natore, Pabna and other districts.
The hospital has seen a rush of COVID-19 patients since Eid-ul-Fitr, stretching its resources to the limit. The number of coronavirus-related deaths has also been on the rise during that period, according to RMCH's Director Brig Gen Shamim Yazdani.
Of the 148 fatalities, 88 had been diagnosed with the coronavirus infection, he said. The rest died before being tested but showed symptoms consistent with the illness, reports bdnews24.com.
Twelve people died from COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 6am Tuesday, while 56 patients were admitted to the hospital's coronavirus unit in the same period.
Among the new patients, 39 are from Rajshahi, eight from Chapainawabganj, four from Natore, five from Naogaon and two from Kushtia.
At the same time, 43 people were discharged from the hospital after recovering from the disease.
As of 8 am Tuesday, 325 people were being treated in the coronavirus unit, which has a capacity of 273 beds, said Yazdani. Additional beds have also been provided to 52 patients.
According to the district's health department, 368 samples were tested in two labs in Rajshahi on Monday. The coronavirus was detected in 111 of these, yielding a positivity rate of 30.16 per cent.
Among the districts in the division, the highest positivity rate of 48.86 per cent was found in samples from Naogaon, with 43 out of 88 returning positive results.
On Tuesday, Bangladesh reported 3,319 new cases of the coronavirus, the highest daily count since Apr 23, taking the tally of infections to 833,291. The death toll rose by 50 to 13,222, according to the latest government data.
