Coronavirus toll rises to 5 in Bangladesh, no new case of infection in last 24 hours

Bangladesh on Wednesday reported fifth death from the coronavirus though no new case of the infection came out in the last 24 hours as the country suspended all domestic flights, trains and public transport to fight the pandemic. The Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) has confirmed that one more person has died of coronavirus (Covid-19) infection in Bangladesh, taking the number of deaths from the disease in the country to five, the Dhaka Tribune reported. However, no new case of infection has been recorded in the country in the last 24 hours,” IEDCR Director Meerjady Sabrina Flora said while addressing an online press briefing on Wednesday.

She said the person who died was tested Covid-19 positive on March 18 and was brought to hospital on March 21. “The deceased was suffering from diabetes and hypertension as well,” Flora was quoted as saying. She said till now, a total of 47 people have been kept in isolation while 47 others are in institutional quarantine.

Earlier on Tuesday, the government suspended domestic flights, public road transport, launch vessels, and trains amid the growing coronavirus pandemic which has killed over 18,000 people and infected 405,000 globally, half of them in Europe. On Monday, Bangladesh government declared a 10-day shutdown from March 26 to battle the spread of the coronavirus. Both the private and public sectors, except emergency services, would come to a temporary halt.

Educational institutions will stay closed during this period but banks will remain open to facilitate the financial transaction for their clients. Bangladesh’s armed forces have been deployed to assist the administration in every divisional and district town to ensure that people maintain social distance and are taking precautionary measures to prevent the novel coronavirus from spreading further.