Staff Correspondent: Dhaka, Aug-16,

Bangladesh added 174 fatalities to its national tally on Monday as Covid cases and deaths continue to fall for the fourth straight day.

The country is now reporting 9,315 new cases on average each day – 64% of the peak.  The highest daily average was reported on August 3.

Bangladesh recorded 6,959 new cases Monday after testing 33,015 samples, down from 11,463 logged a week earlier on August 9.

The country has been experiencing a surge of Covid-related caseloads and deaths since June 2021.

Bangladesh reported the highest daily Covid-19 fatality number – 264 – on August 5 and 10, and 16,230 infections on July 28.

Between May and June this year, there was a 273% rise in monthly caseloads and 162% in fatalities. In July there was a 150% increase in caseloads and a 170% rise in deaths compared to the previous month, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

There have been 14,25,861 infections and 24,349 coronavirus-related deaths here since the pandemic began, said the Directorate General of Health Services.

In 24 hours till Monday morning, the percentage of coronavirus tests coming back positive stood at 21.08%, down from August 9's 24.28%, while the WHO recommends a 5% or below rate.

However, the recovery rate rose to 91.31%, and the case fatality increased to 1.71% compared to the same period.

Dhaka division reported the highest 70 deaths, Chattogram 37, Khulna 19, Rajshahi 17, Mymensingh 11, Barishal and Rangpur seven each, and Sylhet six.

Since the beginning of the vaccination programme, the government has administered at least 20,889,928 doses of Covid vaccines – enough to have vaccinated around 6.4% of the country's population, assuming every person needs two doses.

Getting vaccinated prevents severe illness, hospitalisations, and death; and with the Delta variant; this is more urgent than ever, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

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