The health authorities on Saturday (Jul 24) reported the record high 32.55 percent Covid-19 infection rate, registering 195 deaths and detecting 6,780 patients in the past 24 hours that revealed the pandemic has extended again its claws after an apparent brief recess.
The virus claimed 1,000 lives in only past five days, a directorate general of health services (DGHS) spokesman said.
He added that the infection rate stood at 32.55 percent on Saturday while the infection rate was 31.05 on Friday.
According to the official data the total number of deaths now reached 19,046 and caseloads rose to 1,153,344.
The previous highest infection rate was 32.19 percent which was recorded on Jul 22.
The DGHS on Friday reported lowest daily death toll in 17 days saying coronavirus claimed 166 lives in the previous 24 hours when 6,364 people were tested Covid-19 positive.
The routine DGHS report came two days after the government re-imposed a nationwide lockdown after an eight-day recess.
Earlier, from Jul 20-Jul 22, tens of millions of people left Dhaka to their homes and again back to the capital during the Eid vacation.
Experts earlier feared the eased restrictions could severely hit back the country's health system.
The "stricter lockdown" was ordered for 14 days while state minister for public administration Farhad Hossain said "this lockdown will be stricter than the one imposed last time".
Bangladesh earlier kept industrial plants beyond the shutdown's purview, however, the renewed one will keep them including the export-oriented garment factories under lock and key alongside government and private offices and courts.
Dhaka streets were mostly deserted as army troops, paramilitary Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion joined hands with police to enforce the movement restrictions setting up makeshift checkpoints in the capital and other cities.
The DGHS statistics shows that of the people infected from the beginning, 85.69 percent recovered and 1.65 percent died.
According to the data, the coronavirus kept marks of its higher rage in Dhaka vision claiming 8,978 lives and killed 3,472 in Chattogram, 1,464 in Rajshahi, 2,465 in Khulna, 581 in Barishal, 672 in Sylhet, 930 in Rangpur and 484 in Mymensingh division.
