The number of people diagnosed with the novel coronavirus disease, Covid-19, rose considerably on Thursday.
A total of 1,842 new cases were detected in the past 24 hours until Thursday morning after testing 15,225 samples.
The figures were 1,517 and 13,914 respectively on the previous day, according the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
However, the number of fatalities was slightly less at 17 compared to Wednesday's 21, according to a DGHS press release.
Some 15,040 samples were collected countrywide in the reporting period, it revealed.
With Thursday's tally (14 males and 03 females), the total number reached 6,021 since the first case was detected in Bangladesh on March 09.
On the other hand, a total of 1,891 people recovered from Covid-19 during the last 24 hours, it mentioned.
The DGHS release said the rate of detections increased slightly to 12.10 per cent during the reporting time from 10.90 per cent of Wednesday.
However, the rate of fatalities remained almost static at 1.45 per cent and that of recovery was recorded at 80.09 per cent, the DGHS release mentioned.
According to the official data, a total of 414,164 people have so far been infected with Covid-19 and 331,697 of them recovered from the deadly disease.
However, the government on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Serum Institute of India (SII) to procure 30 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine which will be administered to 15 million people in the first phase.
The vaccine, an Indian version of Oxford-AstraZeneca's coronavirus vaccine, will be brought here on approval of World Health Organisation. Each person will get two doses in a gap of 28 days.
The MoU was signed between Beximco Pharma and SII at the conference room of the health ministry. Health minister Zahid Maleque and Indian high commissioner Vikram K Doraiswami were present at the signing ceremony.
Beximco Pharma's managing director Nazmul Hasan and SII representative Sandwip Moloy signed the MoU on behalf of their respective organizations.
Zahid Maleque said Beximco has played a key role in building connection with SII in getting vaccines. Beximco will hand over the vaccines after SII gives them. The government has decided to import 30 million doses in the first lot. Every month 5.0 million vaccines will be received, he added.
"The vaccine may start arriving here from January next year. It has been decided in principle that India will give the vaccine at the same rate they will get from Oxford," the minister said.
He further said Oxford University-made vaccine has been proved successful in the human trial phase in the UK without any side effect. The government may have to spend US$5 (Tk 450) on a dose, he added.
The minister also said the frontline Covid fighters, health department officials, police as well as sick, media and elderly people will get priority in getting vaccines.
Nazmul Hasan said Beximco stood by the people from the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic. It was assumed that Covid will end within few months. But it did not happen. That's why Beximco started research so that the company can bring vaccine first in Bangladesh, he added.
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