The country reported 11,525 cases, the highest day since the pandemic began, as the authorities fear that shortages of medical oxygen may worsen the crisis.

Bangladesh has reported 11,525 cases of COVID-19, which is the highest in a day since the pandemic began, as the authorities fear that the medical oxygen crisis is critical to its treatment.

According to government data on Tuesday, at least 163 people have died in the past 24 hours, bringing the total death toll to 15,392. The total number of cases is 966,406.

As the number of coronavirus cases and deaths hit a new record, Bangladesh extended its strict nationwide lockdown on Monday, confining people to their homes for another week.

Last month, when the Delta variant (first discovered in India) hit the border areas of the northern and southwestern regions of the country, there was an increase in new infections in Bangladesh.

The country borders India, and health experts say the actual number of infections and deaths may be higher.

At the same time, the oxygen supply of COVID-19 hospitals in Bangladesh may be exhausted, while the hospital in the capital Dhaka is approaching a tipping point due to a surge in cases.

The country’s health officials said that if the number of daily infections continues to remain high, it will be difficult to meet the demand for oxygen supply.

According to the Anadolu Agency, there are 1,217 Incentive Care Unit (ICU) beds in the country.

Dhaka alone has 839 ICU beds, which has brought tremendous pressure to the capital and the gap between cities. Anadolu said that as of Tuesday, of the total, about 356 ICU beds are available.

30-year-old Belal Hossain Rahat (Belal Hossain Rahat), a resident of the southwestern part of Jhenaidah District, told the agency that his parents both suffered from breathing difficulties and high fever due to COVID-19 and are currently receiving treatment at home .

According to data from the General Administration of Health Services, the Jneida Government District Hospital does not have ICU facilities.

“The existing harsh and dim conditions in the regional hospitals forced us to arrange their treatment at home. We have made the necessary preparations. If their condition remains the same, we will have to move to Dhaka for better treatment,” Rahat said.

Despite the national blockade, the factory in Dhaka is still open, but the garment workers came out of the factory during the lunch break [Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters]

DGHS spokesperson Dr. Nazmul Islam told Anadolu Agency when talking about the status of district-level government hospitals that the doctor-patient ratio in Bangladesh is only 5.26 per 10,000 people.

“So far, there has been no serious oxygen supply crisis, but if the number of infections continues to increase and people need oxygen, it will definitely be difficult to meet the demand,” he said.

“We have developed a procurement plan to store more oxygen in many hospitals.”

DGHS stated that it has the capacity to provide 210-220 tons of liquid oxygen per day.

However, experts and media reports estimate that since last week, the daily demand for oxygen has exceeded 230 tons due to the surge in the number of infections.

After India stopped exporting AstraZeneca vaccine due to the AstraZeneca vaccine outbreak in April, the country is also facing a vaccination crisis. Bangladesh has reached an agreement with the Serum Institute of India to obtain 30 million doses of vaccine.

In a country of 160 million people, only 4 million Bangladeshis have been vaccinated. The authorities hope to start a new mass vaccination campaign with Chinese national medicine and other vaccines.