Rising coronavirus infections are making the situation worse every single day with the DGHS releasing grimmer and grimmer data.

It reported the highest, 11,651, new cases in a day and the second-worst daily deaths tally, 199 people, yesterday.

The positivity rate was 31.62 percent yesterday, the second-highest since August 31 last year when it was 31.91 percent.

The total cases reported so far is 9,89,219 and total confirmed deaths caused by the pathogen is 15,792.

At least 1.60 percent of the people infected have died, according to the data from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

With surging numbers of Covid-19 cases every day, the hospitals, especially those in Khulna, Rajshahi, Rangpur, and Chattogram divisions, have been struggling to treat patients.

As of yesterday noon, there were at least 13 hospitals across the country treating more patients than their capacity.

At least 61 percent of all the general beds, 14,972, dedicated to Covid patients across the country were occupied yesterday but more worrying was the fact that 73 percent of all ICU beds, 1,251, had Covid patients.

Hospitals in Dhaka said they were getting an increasing number of Covid patients every day.

“Around 70 percent of the patients here are from the districts outside Dhaka. Almost all of them require critical care, including ICU support. We have been able to provide treatment. But our capacity will be exhausted soon if the rush of patients continues,” Brig AKM Nasir Uddin, director of DNCC Covid-19 Hospital in Dhaka, told The Daily Star yesterday.

Launched in April, the hospital with 212 ICU beds is the country’s largest Covid-19 hospital.

As of yesterday noon, the hospital had 73 empty ICU beds while the rest 15 public Covid-19 hospitals in Dhaka had 22 ICU beds vacant, according to the DGHS.

Dhaka division saw the highest 65 Covid-19 deaths yesterday followed by 55 in Khulna, 37 deaths in Chattogram, 15 in Rajshahi, 10 in Mymensingh, nine in Rangpur, five in Sylhet, and three in Barishal divisions.

—report in The Daily Star, July 9. 2021
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