Covid-19: Global cases near 78 million

The number of globally confirmed Covid-19 cases crossed 77.9 million on Wednesday with 1,715,945 fatalities, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University (JHU).

The total caseload reached 77,958,369 in the morning.

In the US, the number of Covid-19 cases topped 18,217,390 with 322,589 fatalities.

US Covid-19 cases hit 17 million on Dec 17, and added 1 million in four days.

The country has approved two vaccines for use. It is scrambling to expand vaccinations as rapidly as Moderna and Pfizer can churn out doses. Moderna’s is for people 18 and older, Pfizer’s starts at age 16.

In India, the coronavirus death mounted to 146,111 while the total caseload reached 10,075,116.

Brazil's Covid-19 death toll reached 188,259 after 968 more patients died from the novel coronavirus disease, the country's ministry of health reported on Tuesday.

Tests detected 55,202 new daily cases of infection, raising the accumulated caseload to 7,318,821 with 6,354,972 recoveries.

Covid-19 cases were first reported in China in December last year.

Bangladesh situation

Bangladesh’s Covid-19 fatalities rose to 7,329 until early Tuesday with 17 more deaths in the past 24 hours.

The health authorities also reported 1,318 new Covid-19 cases during the period, taking the caseload to 503,501.

Bangladesh reported its first cases on March 8. The infection number reached the 500,000-mark on December 20.

The first death was reported on March 18 and the death toll exceeded 7,000 on December 12.

Until now, 3,106,494 tests have been carried out, including 15,145 new ones. And the overall infection rate stood at 16.21 percent.

The government has been warning of a second Covid-19 infection wave and has been strictly implementing ‘no mask, no service’ policy.

Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam on Monday said Bangladesh would get Covid-19 vaccines for some 4.5 crore people by May-June next year.

Source: UNB