Dhaka: The death toll from the novel coronavirus has climbed to 170 in Bangladesh after two more fatalities were registered in the 24 hours to 8am Friday.

The tally of infections rose to 8,238 cases in the same period with 571 more people testing positive for COVID-19 from 5,573 samples, DGHS Additional Director General Nasima Sultana said on Friday.

Another 14 infected patients were discharged from hospitals during that period, bringing the total number of recoveries to 174 so far.

Among the latest fatalities, one was a man and the other a woman. One of them was aged over 60 while the other between 51 and 60.

In an effort to increase sample testing, the government has authorised three more institutions -- Sir Salimullah Medical College, Central Police Hospital and National Institute of Preventive and Social Medicine (NIPSOM) -- to run tests for COVID-19, said Nasima. Tests are currently being conducted at 31 laboratories in the country.

Globally, over 3.25 million people have been infected by the novel coronavirus and 233,438 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.