Bangladesh records 26 new virus deaths, caseload nears 350,000

The caseload surged to 348,916 after 1,544 people tested positive for COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8 am Sunday, the government said.

The number of recoveries outpaced fresh cases in the same period as another 2,179 patients recovered through treatment at home and in hospital care. It brings the total so far to 256,565.

A total of 11,591 samples were tested at 97 authorised labs across the country in the last 24 hours, with a positivity rate of 13.32 percent, data from the health directorate showed.

The official figures put the recovery rate at 73.53 percent while the mortality rate stands at 1.42 percent.

Globally, over 30.79 million people have been infected by the novel coronavirus and 957,192 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.