Bangladesh has recorded 604 COVID-19 cases in a daily count, taking the overall tally of infections to 1,946,369. The death toll climbed to 29,064 on the back of six new fatalities in the 24 hours to 8am Friday, according to the latest government data.

As many as 18,890 samples were tested across the country, for a positivity rate of 3.20 percent. Among the eight divisions, Dhaka recorded the highest number of cases and deaths, with 463 infections and three fatalities.

Another 4,403 people recovered from the illness nationwide, bringing the total number of recoveries to 1,835,980. The latest figures put the recovery rate at 94.33 percent and the mortality rate at 1.49 percent.

Globally, over 442.20 million people have been infected by the novel coronavirus and 5.98 million 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.