Bangladesh reports 578 new virus cases, deaths rise by 21

Rabeya Khatun, a woman from Mirpur, lies outside the COVID-19 isolation ward at the Shaheed Suhrawardy Medical College Hospital in Dhaka as she is being treated for breathing complications while awaiting coronavirus test results. Photo: Asif Mahmud Ove

The death toll climbed to 7,883 after 21 fatalities were registered in the 24 hours to 8 am Saturday, according to data released by the government.

Another 633 patients recovered from the illness through treatment at home and in hospital care, bringing the total to 471,756.

As many as 12,215 samples were tested at 199 authorised labs across the country in the last 24 hours, yielding a positivity rate of 4.73 percent.

The latest official figures put the recovery rate at 89.51 percent, while the mortality rate stands at 1.49 percent.

Globally, over 93.9 million people have been infected by the novel coronavirus and 2 million have died, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.