Don't panic about second wave of Covid-19: Minister

Health Minister Zahid Maleque on Monday urged the people not to be panicked, assuring them that the government has taken preparations to tackle the possible second wave of Covid-19, reports UNB.

The second wave has already occurred in many countries and it may hit Bangladesh as well, he said.

"We'll face the second wave of Covid-19 with concerted efforts," he said at a programme at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) in the afternoon. "We've taken adequate preparations to this end."

Minister Maleque said they are taking steps to procure vaccines as directed by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

He noted that the government is spending Tk 15,000 on each Covid-19 patient and Tk 47,000 for each Intensive Care Unit patient in hospitals. "We're spending on average Tk 100,000-150,000 for each coronavirus patient, he said.

Bangladesh on Monday recorded 1,736 new coronavirus cases in 24 hours, pushing the caseload to 4,109,88. Besides, 25 more patients died from Covid-19 during the period, taking the fatalities to 5,966.

So far, 327,901 patients have recovered -- 1,961 in the last 24 hours. The fatality rate in Bangladesh is 1.45 per cent, the Directorate General of Health Services said.

Bangladesh reported its first cases on March 8. The number of cases reached the 300,000-mark on August 26. The first death was reported on March 18 and the death toll exceeded 5,000 on Sept 22.

So far, 23,61,702 tests have been carried out, including 12,891 new tests, and 17.4 per cent of them have turned out to be positive.

The number of confirmed Covid-19 cases has surpassed 46.4 million globally with nearly 1.2 million fatalities on Monday, according to the latest tally from Johns Hopkins University.

The death toll from Covid-19 in the world reached 1,199,693 while the total caseload surpassed 46,437,615 in the morning.

The US has registered 230,967 deaths with 9,201,500 infections - both the highest in the world. India comes in second in terms of cases (8,184,082), while the country's death toll soared to 122,111.

Coronavirus cases were first reported in China in December last year. The World Health Organisation declared it a pandemic in March.