DHAKA,  – Bangladesh today reported 1,710 COVID-19 cases while the coronavirus claimed overnight 36 lives.

“The tally of infections has surged to 8,00,540 as 1,710 new cases
were confirmed in the last 24 hours . . . 36 people died of COVID-19 during the period,” Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said in its routine daily statement.

A total of 36 COVID-19 patients died in the last 24 hours increasing the death toll from the pandemic to 12,619.

It said 9.41 percent of the 18,178 samples collected in 24 hours were tested positive while the infection rate was only 2.30 percent just on February 8 this year as during the late winter season, the rate started decreasing sharply.

The samples were tested at 503 authorized medical laboratories across the country during the time as the government put in efforts to increase the number of testing centers gradually with resurgence of the pandemic.

The recovery count rose to 7,40,372 after another 1,567 patients were discharged from the hospitals during the past one day.

The DGHS statistics showed of the people infected from the beginning, 92.48 percent recovered, while 1.58 percent died.