Bangladesh on Monday registered the highest number of new coronavirus cases and deaths within a single day amid a strict lockdown imposed to contain the surge in infections.
The government's Directorate General of Health Services said 15,192 infections and 247 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, taking the total caseload to 1,179,827 and death toll to 19,521 since the pandemic began in March last year.
The new record comes in line with health experts' warnings that the outbreak might worsen when the authorities relaxed the health restrictions for more than a week on July 13 to allow people to travel ahead of the Muslim celebration of Eid-al-Adha festival.
Tens of thousands of people travelled from major cities to their home villages on crowded ferries and buses before the government re-imposed the lockdown for two more weeks, shutting offices, transportation, factories and shopping malls until August 5.
Health Minister Zahid Maleque called the situation "most difficult" as nearly 90 per cent of the hospital beds are occupied.
He called upon everyone to follow the health guidelines to help slow the spread of the virus.
He said the government will recruit 8,000 health workers, including 4,000 doctors, to further improve healthcare services and boost the coronavirus vaccination campaign nationwide.
Some 2.6 per cent of Bangladesh's population of 160 million has so far been fully vaccinated, while 1.09 per cent are partially vaccinated, according to statistics from Our World in Data.
