Kushtia has registered 18 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, while Rajshahi Medical College Hospital recorded 14 more deaths at its coronavirus unit.
Another nine people died in Kushtia while displaying symptoms consistent with the disease until 8 am on Saturday, according to the district's Civil Surgeon Dr HM Anwarul Islam.
Among the dead, 15 were undergoing treatment at Kushtia General Hospital, while the others passed away at Khoksha Upazila Health Complex, Kumarkhari Health Complex and Mirpur Health Complex, reports bdnews24.com.
Meanwhile, the PCR lab in Kushtia Medical College detected 175 new cases of the coronavirus infection from 735 samples, according to the civil surgeon. This puts the daily positivity rate in the district at almost 30 per cent.
Kushtia's COVID-19 death toll currently stands at 328.
The 14 deaths at the RMCH coronavirus unit occurred in the 24 hours to 6 am on Saturday, said Brig Gen Shameem Yazdany, the hospital’s director.
Among the dead, seven were from Rajshahi, four from Natore and one each from Pabna, Chuadanga and Joypurhat.
Six had tested positive for the virus while others displayed symptoms consistent with the disease, he said.
The coronavirus unit has admitted 60 more patients in the past 24 hours, while another 11 were discharged after recovering from the disease.
This brings the total number of patients at the hospital’s COVID-19 unit to 522, a new record. The unit has a capacity of only 454 beds, forcing some patients to use makeshift bedrolls on the floor or on the hospital’s verandahs.
The hospital has also registered 130 new cases of the virus in the Rajshahi district in the past 24 hours, higher than in the past five days.