Dhaka: Bangladesh has registered seven more deaths from the novel coronavirus in the 24 hours to 8 am Monday, taking the body count to 152.

The tally of infections jumped to 5,913 in the same period after another 497 people tested positive from 3,812 samples, DGHS Additional Director General Nasima Sultana said on Monday.

Globally, over 2.97 million people have been infected by the novel coronavirus and 206,568 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.

The Bangladesh Civil Aviation Authority has extended a ban on passenger flights to May 7 as the government grapples with the spread of the coronavirus.

The ban will remain effective on flights to and from 16 countries: Bahrain, Bhutan, Hong Kong, India, Kuwait, Malaysia, the Maldives, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey, the UAE and the UK.

“At the same time, the ban will remain effective on domestic passenger flights,” CAAB spokesman Mohammad Sohel Kamruzzaman said on Monday.

As previously announced, Chinese passenger flights, cargo planes, air ambulances, aid aircraft and flights for emergency landing are out of the ban’s purview, according to Kamruzzaman.

The previous ban had been scheduled to expire on Apr 30.

https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2020/04/27/bangladesh-extends-ban-on-passenger-flights-to-may-7-as-virus-cases-surge