Dhaka: Bangladesh has confirmed 112 new cases of the novel coronavirus, raising the tally of positive tests to 330.

The death toll from the virus rose to 21 after one more patient died in the last 24 hours, Health Minister Zahid Malik said.

This is by far the biggest single-day surge in cases since the virus was first detected in Bangladesh on Mar 8.

Increased testing for the virus across the country has seen a rapid rise in the number of infections this week. As many as 1,097 samples were tested in the last 24 hours to 2:30pm on Thursday, according to health officials.

A total of 33 patients have recovered from the disease so far but there were no recovered patients in the last 24 hours, said the health minister.

INFECTIONS SPREADING FROM CLUSTERS

The rapid spread of the novel coronavirus across Bangladesh can be traced back to a few infection clusters in the country, according to IEDCR Director Meerjady Sabrina Flora.

Among the 112 new cases, 62 were detected in Dhaka with another 13 in Narayanganj, according to the government's disease control agency.

"We've observed that the majority of infected patients are in Dhaka followed by Narayanganj. We have recently said that Narayanganj has been marked as a hotspot. Special measures have been taken for Narayanganj which has been completely isolated," said Flora.

"People who have been diagnosed with coronavirus in different districts had all been to areas with infections. In many cases, they'd been in places that we'd already identified as infection clusters such as Narayanganj," she added.

The IEDCR reiterated the importance of staying home particularly during the nationwide shutdown as the outbreak begins to intensify.

"We have repeatedly warned against taking the shutdown for a holiday. The prime minister took this step to ensure that everyone stays home. The best we can do right now is stay home."

https://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2020/04/09/bangladesh-confirms-112-new-coronavirus-cases-as-death-toll-climbs-to-21