DHAKA, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- Bangladesh recorded no daily deaths from COVID-19 for the first time in more than one-and-a-half years Saturday.
Prior to Saturday, there had not been a day without a COVID-19 death since April 3, 2020 in the country.
Bangladesh recorded zero single-day deaths a number of times in March and April last year after reporting the first three fatalities on March 18, 2020.
Both COVID-19 cases and deaths significantly dropped throughout Bangladesh in the recent months as vaccinations have largely increased.
Bangladesh launched the vaccine rollout in January this year. Amid uncertainty about a timely vaccine shipment from India, the Bangladeshi government subsequently halted administering the first doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine for the people.
In June, the vaccination drive resumed in parts of the country with the China-donated Sinopharm vaccines.
Since March 8 last year, the virus has spread to nearly every Bangladeshi district and the total number rose to over 1,573,889 with 27,946 deaths so far.
Bangladesh's Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) on Saturday reported 178 new COVID-19 infections. A total of 15,107 samples were tested in the last 24 hours as of 8:00 a.m. local time Saturday across the country.
The total number of recovered patients in the country has risen to 1,538,006, including 190 new recoveries on Saturday, said the DGHS.
Currently, the COVID-19 fatality rate in Bangladesh stands at 1.78 percent and the recovery rate has reached 97.72 percent.
Bangladesh recorded the highest daily new cases of 16,230 on July 28 and the highest number of 264 deaths on Aug. 5 and 10 respectively. Enditem
