Bangladesh: COVID-19 death toll reaches 22, this month

Dhaka, June 29 (IANS) Bangladesh on Saturday recorded two new COVID-19 deaths during the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 22 so far this month.

The country recorded its first COVID-19 fatality on June 5, when a man died from the infectious disease in the capital Dhaka.

The country also reported seven new COVID-19 cases, with the daily test positivity rate jumping to 3.87 percent in the 24 hours till 8:00 a.m. local time Saturday.

Official data showed that 174 samples were tested in the last 24 hours.

Amid a fresh rise in COVID-19 infections in several neighboring countries, the Bangladeshi interim government asked people to refrain from traveling to those destinations unless absolutely necessary, reported Xinhua news agency.

The authorities here have also instructed relevant departments to enhance health screening and surveillance measures at all ports to contain the spread of the infection.

The Bangladeshi government has planned a campaign to offer COVID-19 vaccine doses in order to boost people's fading immunity against the infectious disease, an official has said.

Md Abu Jafor, director general of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), said here Wednesday that the campaign will be launched to inoculate people above the age of 60, frontline workers and those suffering from comorbidities.

He said DGHS has a stock of approximately 1.7 million COVID-19 vaccine shots for the vaccination campaign.

Amid a fresh rise in COVID-19 infections in several neighboring countries, the Bangladeshi interim government has already asked people to refrain from traveling to those destinations unless absolutely necessary.

The DGHS under the Ministry of Health has also instructed the relevant authorities to enhance health screening and surveillance measures at all ports to contain the spread of the infection.

The directives, which were issued Monday, stated that new subvariants of the coronavirus are spreading in several neighboring countries, including India.

After 13 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Bangladesh in the last 24 hours, the country reported 10 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday.

--IANS

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