Maleque claims success in tackling Covid
Bangladesh has achieved success in containing coronavirus when many other countries, including India, the UK and US, have failed to do so, Health Minister Zahid Maleque claimed yesterday.
He came up with the remark as the country logged a higher number of new cases, deaths and positivity rate than the previous day.
"There was no death due to shortage of oxygen in our country, but India went through this," the health minister said while addressing as the chief guest of an orientation programme for the newly recruited junior consultants (anesthesiologists) in the capital.
He said the number of Covid-19 infection has been falling in Bangladesh. "But if health guidelines are not followed properly, infection could surge again any time," he said.
As the situation has improved, educational institutions reopened, the minister said, adding that Bangladesh's financial condition has also got better significantly.
The minister said there was a lack of anesthesiologists so new consultants were being appointed. More anesthesiologists will be recruited in future to tackle the crisis, he said.
He added that there will be no vaccine shortage in Bangladesh as 1.5 crore vaccine shots will be delivered this month.
At the programme, Prof Abul Bashar Mohammad Khurshid Alam, director general of the health directorate, said 409 anesthesiologists have been appointed in the country at one go.
POSITIVITY RATE RISES
The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) reported 51 deaths from Covid-19 in past 24 hours till 8:00am yesterday, up from the previous day's 48.
The country also recorded 1,871 fresh coronavirus cases yesterday. The figure was 1,327 the previous day.
Against yesterday's 25,074 tests, the positivity rate was 7.46 percent. The previous day, it was 7.03 percent against 18,869 tests.
With the latest count, the total number of deaths reached 26,931, which is 1.76 percent of all confirmed cases so far.
Meantime, the number of confirmed cases rose to 15,30,413.
Of yesterday's deceased, 22 were men and 29 women.
After the second wave of Covid-19 broke out in the second week of March in the country, the virus transmission peaked during July. From the beginning of August, it continued to decline, according to the DGHS data.
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