The overall global number of coronavirus cases has surged past 270 million amid the race of scientists to learn about its Omicron variant’s transmissibility and severity.
According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 270,126,616 while the death toll from the virus reached 5,305,655 on Monday morning.
The US has recorded 49,919,637 cases so far and more than 797,345 people have died from the virus in the country, the university data shows.
Brazil, which has been experiencing a new wave of cases since January, registered 22,177,059 cases as of Monday, while its Covid death toll rose to 616,457.
India has registered 7,774 new cases of Covid-19 during the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 34,690,510, the country’s health ministry data revealed on Sunday.
The ministry also reported 306 more deaths during the same period, taking the total death toll to 475,434.
India also reported two more cases of the Omicron variant (B.1.1.529) on Sunday, taking the country’s tally of the new variant to 35, officials said.
Meanwhile, Britain faces a “tidal wave” of infections from the Omicron coronavirus variant, and announced a huge increase in booster vaccinations to strengthen defences against it, warned Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday.
Another 633 Omicron cases have been confirmed in Britain, the biggest daily increase since the Covid-19 variant was detected in the country, taking the total cases found in the country to 1,898, British health authorities said on Saturday.
Britain reports 54,073 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of coronavirus cases in the country to 10,771,444, according to official figures released on Saturday.
The country also reported a further 132 coronavirus-related deaths. The total number of coronavirus-related deaths in Britain now stands at 146,387, with 7,413 COVID-19 patients still in hospital.
The chief medical officers of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland said the 1of the highly transmissible new strain “adds additional and rapidly increasing risk to the public and health care services” at a time when Covid-19 is already widespread. They recommended raising the alert level from 3 to 4 on a 5-point scale. The top level, 5, indicates authorities think the healthcare system is about to be overwhelmed.
The doctors said early evidence shows Omicron is spreading much faster than the currently dominant delta variant, and that vaccines offer less protection against it. British officials say Omicron is likely to replace delta as the dominant strain in the UK within days.
Situation in Bangladesh
Bangladesh reported six more Covid-related deaths along with 329 fresh cases in 24 hours till Sunday morning amid the entry of Omicron.
Bangladesh last recorded over 300 daily Covid-cases with 312 cases and three Covid-linked deaths.
With the latest cases, the daily-case positivity rate increased again to 1.52 per cent from Saturday’s 1.13 per cent, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
The total fatalities mounted to 28,028 while the caseload mounted to 15,79, 325, with the number of fresh cases.
Meanwhile, the mortality rate remained static at 1.77 per cent during the period.
Four of the latest deceased were men and two women.
The fresh cases were detected after testing 21,612 samples.
Besides, the recovery rate remained unchanged at 97.77 per cent with the recovery of 288 more patients during the 24-hour period.
On Thursday, Bangladesh again logged zero Covid-related death after nearly three weeks as the pandemic is apparently showing signs of easing.
The country reported this year’s first zero Covid-related death in a single day on November 20 along with 178 infections since the pandemic broke out in Bangladesh in March 2020.
Bangladesh reported the highest number of daily fatalities of 264 on August 5 this year, while the highest daily caseload was 16,230 on July 28 this year.
However, some of the leading public health experts in Bangladesh have warned that the current trend of plummeting Covid-19 cases in Bangladesh could well be the obvious calm before a cataclysmic storm.
Their fears centre around children below 12 who remain out of the vaccine coverage and the elderly people.
These experts fear a slow pace of vaccination, waning vaccine immunity, sheer disregard for Covid-safety protocols, reopening of schools and increased travel may set the stage for another Covid wave in Bangladesh — a trend many European countries are witnessing now.
Omicron enters Bangladesh
Bangladesh on Saturday reported the first two cases of Omicron variant of coronavirus.
“These two infected female patients (cricketers) returned from Zimbabwe recently,” ASM Alamgir, chief scientific officer of the Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), told UNB.
He said the Omicron patients are members of the Bangladesh Women’s Cricket Team and they do not have any severe symptoms.
However, the two female members of the cricket team have been kept in a hotel for isolation, he added.
The two cricketers tested positive for Covid-19 on December 6.
The women’s team recently returned home from Zimbabwe after confirming their participation in the next 50-over World Cup, which will be Bangladesh’s maiden World Cup appearance as well.
Source: United News of Bangladesh