UNB, Dhaka :
Bangladesh reported three more Covid-linked deaths with 385 fresh cases in 24 hours till Monday morning amid the fear of Omicron escalation.
On Sunday, the country logged 329 cases and six Covid-related deaths.
With the latest cases, the daily-case positivity rate rose again to 1.72 per cent from Sunday’s 1.52 per cent, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The total fatalities mounted to 28,031 while the caseload mounted to 15,79, 710 with the fresh cases.
Meanwhile, the mortality rate remained static at 1.77 per cent during the period.
Of the 27 deaths recorded from December 6 to December 12, 18.5 per cent received Covid vaccines while 81.5 per cent did not, the DGHS mentioned.
Comorbidities among the deceased patients increased 5.8 per cent this week compared to the previous one. Comorbidity means the simultaneous presence of two or more diseases or medical conditions in a patient.
Two of the latest deceased were men and one was a woman.
The fresh cases were detected after testing 21,037 samples, said the DGHS.
Besides, the recovery rate remained unchanged at 97.77 per cent with the recovery of 267 more patients during the 24-hour period.
On December 9, Bangladesh again logged zero Covid-related death after nearly three weeks as the pandemic is apparently showing signs of easing.
The country reported this year’s first zero Covid-related death in a single day on November 20 along with 178 infections since the pandemic broke out in Bangladesh in March 2020.
Bangladesh reported the highest number of daily fatalities of 264 on August 5 this year, while the highest daily caseload was 16,230 on July 28 this year.
However, some of the leading public health experts in Bangladesh have warned that the current trend of plummeting Covid-19 cases in Bangladesh could well be the obvious calm before a cataclysmic storm.
Their fears center around children below 12 who remain out of the vaccine coverage and the elderly people.
These experts fear a slow pace of vaccination, waning vaccine immunity, sheer disregard for Covid-safety protocols, reopening of schools and increased travel may set the stage for another Covid wave in Bangladesh — a trend many European countries are witnessing now.
