DHAKA, – Bangladesh today recorded 35 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) deaths and 2,960 fresh cases overnight.

The recovery count rose to 1,27,414 after another 1,731 patients were discharged from the hospitals during the period, a top health official said.

“Thirty-five more COVID-19 patients died in the last 24 hours, increasing the death toll from the pandemic to 3,000,” Additional Director General of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) Prof Nasima Sultana told a virtual media briefing at DGHS in the city this afternoon.

She said the tally of infections has surged to 2,29,185 as 2,960 new cases were confirmed in the last 24 hours.

The health official also informed that a total of 12,714 samples were tested at 81 authorized laboratories across the country during the time.

Among the total infections, 55.59 percent patients have recovered, while 1.31 percent died so far since the first COVID-19 positive cases were reported in the country on March 8, she said.

Nasima dubbed Dhaka, Narayanganj and Chattogram as COVID-19 “hotspots” because the maximum numbers of cases were detected in the three cities.

Among the 35 deaths, 26 are male and nine female, she said, adding two are in his 20s, three in their 30s, 10 in their 50s, 13 in their 60s, three in their 70s and four in their 80s.

According to the division-wise data, 12 deaths took place in Dhaka division and five in Chattogram division and rests are in other divisions.

She said as of today, a total of 3,000 people — 2,358 males and 642 females — died from COVID-19 in the country.

Of them, Nasima said, 1,444 deaths occurred in Dhaka division, 731 in Chattogram division, 177 in Rajshahi division, 212 in Khulna division, 115 in Barishal division, 144 in Sylhet division, 113 in Rangpur division and 64 in Mymensingh division.

She said a total of 11, 37,131 samples have so far been tested since the detection of the first COVID-19 cases in the country.

The DGHS said in order to make treatment facilities easily available for COVID-19 patients, the government has introduced telemedicine services comprising 70 physicians and 20 health workers for round the clock in the country. As of today,1,39,042 people have so far received healthcare services from telemedicine, they added.

It said nearly 1,77,10,113 people received healthcare services from hotline mobile numbers and health web portals as the government formed a group of medical professionals to provide emergency health services.

To receive information and treatment facilities on COVID-19, the contact hotline and mobile numbers are 16263; 333; 10655 and 01944333222.

As of July 28, 2020, 10.14 GMT, 657,256 have died so far from the COVID-19 outbreak and there are 16,671,726 currently confirmed cases in 212 countries and territories, according to Worldometer, a reference website that provides counters and real-time statistics for diverse topics.

China was the world’s first country which on January 11 reported the first death from the novel coronavirus in Wuhan, the capital of Central China’s Hubei province.