Bangladesh reports 33 COVID-19 deaths, 141,750 total recoveries

Publish: 6:18 PM, August 5, 2020 | Update: 6:18 PM, August 5, 2020

DHAKA,  – Bangladesh today recorded 33 novel coronavirus (COVID-19) deaths and 2,654 fresh cases overnight.

The recovery count rose to 141,750 after another 1,890 patients were discharged from the hospitals during the period, a top health official said.

“Thirty-three more COVID-19 patients died in the last 24 hours, increasing the death toll from the pandemic to 3,267,” 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 2,46,674 as 2,654 new cases were confirmed in the last 24 hours.

The health official also informed that a total of 11,160 samples were tested at 83 authorized laboratories across the country during the time.

Of the total sample test in the past 24 hours, 23.78 percent tested positive, while 20.35 percent cases were detected from the total tests conducted so far, Nasima added.

Among the total infections, 57.46 percent patients have recovered, while 1.32 percent died so far since the first COVID-19 positive cases were reported in the country on March 8, she said.

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

Among the 33 deaths, 25 are male and eight female, she said, adding two are in their 30s, four in their 40s, eight in their 50s, 10 in their 60s, six in their 70s, one in his 80s and two in their 90s.

According to the division-wise data, 18 deaths took place in Dhaka division, nine in Chattogram division and rests are in other divisions.

Among the total 3,267 deaths, Nasima said, 1,567 deaths occurred in Dhaka division, 784 in Chattogram division, 199 in Rajshahi division, 238 in Khulna division, 128 in Barishal division, 154 in Sylhet division, 127 in Rangpur division and 70 in Mymensingh division.

She said a total of 12,12,416 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.

A total of 1,64,921 people have so far received healthcare services from telemedicine, it said.

The DGHS said 1,82,53,517 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 Aug 5, 2020, 09.09 GMT, 704,686 have died so far from the COVID-19 outbreak and there are 18,722,550 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.