Record Covid deaths ahead of Eid

The country yesterday logged a record 231 daily Covid deaths raising the total number to 18,125.

In the 24 hours till 8:00am yesterday, 13,321 people tested positive for the virus. Of them, the highest 4,834 cases were recorded in the capital with a positivity rate of 30.31, up from 23.61 percent a week ago.

Amid relaxation of the Covid restrictions ahead of the Eid-ul-Azha, virus transmission in Dhaka city has been rising steadily. The positivity rate in the city was 20.24 percent on July 1.

The south-western districts in Khulna and Rajshahi divisions turned into Covid hotspots in mid-May due to the transmission of the highly contagious Delta variant. By mid-June, the variant spread all over the country, leading to a rush of Covid patients at hospitals.

Yesterday, the overall virus positivity rate rose to 29.59 percent from 29.09 percent the previous day. It was around 14 percent on June 15.

The occupancy of general beds at Covid-dedicated hospitals across the country was 68 percent, the ICU beds 87 percent, and the High Dependency Unit beds 83 percent, according to the Covid-19 Dynamic Facility Dashboard of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

Of the 231 deaths yesterday, the highest 73 were recorded in Dhaka division followed by 57 in Khulna division and 43 in Chattogram.

Besides, 17 deaths were logged in Rangpur, 16 in Rajshahi, 11 in Mymensingh, eight in Sylhet and six in Barishal.