Dhaka: The number of coronavirus cases in Bangladesh crossed 6,000 yesterday as the authorities reported a record 549 infections in a single day.

The officials also reported three deaths yesterday, bringing the total number of fatalities to 155.

The continuous upsurge in the number of infection hits the country at a time when the government weighs in favour of reopening parts of the economy.

Amid the countrywide shutdown, the government allowed garment factories' owners to resume work on a limited scale, raising fears of deteriorating the spread of the disease.

The factories in Dhaka and Chattogram reopened on Monday, spurring a huge influx of workers to the Covid-19 hotspots -- Dhaka Narayanganj and Gazipur -- from different districts.

Besides, restaurants in the capital were also allowed to sell takeaway iftar items yesterday.

Experts fear that the reopening of such a huge number of garment factories may increase the risk of faster spreading of the virus.

Prof Ridwanur Rahman, a medicine and infectious disease specialist, said, "The garment workers will gather inside the factories. So, there will be transmission of the virus."

Most of the workers dwell in congested and unhygienic environments. If anyone gets infected, the situation will be grave, he added.

During the daily online bulletin on Covid-19 situation yesterday, Prof Nasima Sultana, additional director general (administration) of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), said with the new cases, the total number of infected patients stood at 6,462.

Previously, the country recorded its highest number of new cases -- 503 -- on April 24.

About the fatalities, she said the three deceased were aged above 60 and that they passed away in Dhaka.

In the 24 hours until 2:30 pm yesterday, 26 labs across the country tested samples of 4,332 individuals, she said, adding that some 54,733 individual samples were tested until yesterday since January 28.

So far, Dhaka city alone has the highest number of deaths -- 79 -- followed by Narayanganj with 39 deaths.

Of the new cases, 290 were in Dhaka city while Narayanganj had 150 cases.

All the upazilas in Dhaka district and other districts in Dhaka division had 20 new cases yesterday.

Speaking about the cases in Dhaka, Prof Ridwanur said the highest number of deaths in Dhaka does not necessarily mean that Covid-19 deaths were fewer in other regions.

"It is mainly because many deaths go unreported," he said, adding that the low number of tests carried out created the situation.

"At this stage [around two months] of transmission, the number of infection and deaths supposed to be higher. But our system is failing to detect all the cases," he said.

Prof Nasima Sultana said eight more people, who were treated in hospitals, have recovered from the disease, raising the total number of recoveries to 139.

"But most of the infected, who are recovering at home, are not added to the recovery list," she said.

The DGHS official asserted that there were no shortage of testing kits and health protective equipment in the country.

Nearly 13.9 lakh personal protective equipment (PPE) were distributed at the hospitals across the country and 3.41 lakh were in stock as of yesterday, she said.

Prof Nasima said the government has prepared 601 institutions across the country for institutional quarantine where 30,635 people can seek instant services.

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