DHAKA, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- Bangladesh recorded 14,828 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 15 more deaths on Monday, bringing the total tally to 1,699,964 with 28,238 deaths, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said.
Meanwhile, the COVID-19 positivity rate in the Asian country surged to 32.37 percent from 31.29 percent on Sunday.
The official data showed that 45,807 samples were tested across the country in the past 24 hours.
Among Bangladesh's eight divisions, the DGHS data showed Dhaka recorded the highest number of cases at 10,165 and that of deaths at six.
The total number of recovered COVID-19 patients in the country rose to 1,557,859 including 998 new recoveries, said the DGHS.
According to the official data, the fatality rate in Bangladesh is 1.66 percent and currently recovery rate is 91.64 percent.
A health official has said the Omicron variant of COVID-19 is driving a spike in fresh infections through community transmissions in the country.
"Huge spike in infections is being driven by the Omicron variant, which is rapidly replacing Delta in the country," Professor Nazmul Islam, a spokesman for the DGHS, told reporters on Sunday.
As Bangladesh reels from a fresh spike in COVID-19 cases spurred by the quick spreading of the omicron variant, the central bank Bangladesh Bank on Monday ordered all banks in the country to operate with only half of their employees physically present in the workplace until Feb. 6.
The Bangladeshi government has already listed a number of restrictions including closure of educational institutions considering the upward trend of COVID-19 infections.
Bangladesh recorded its highest daily new cases of 16,230 on July 28 last year and the highest number of 264 deaths from the pandemic on Aug. 5 and again on Aug. 10, 2021. ■
