Bangladesh will soon receive a gift of 2.5 million doses of Moderna Covid-19 vaccine from the US, said US Ambassador to Bangladesh Earl R Miller.

Awami League nominee Aga Khan Mintu has been declared elected unopposed in the by-polls to Dhaka-14.

The government’s efforts to protect the proverbial heart of the country, its capital, from a worsening Covid-19 situation could be foiled by the influx of people from riskier districts to cattle markets in the lead-up to Eid-ul-Azha.

Awami League nominee Aga Khan Mintu is likely to be elected unopposed in Dhaka-14 by-polls, scheduled for July 28.

More than two-thirds of the people in the slum areas of Dhaka and Chattagram have most definitely been exposed to Covid-19, found a study by the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b).

A policeman died at a hospital in Jhenaidah yesterday, three days after he had tested positive for Covid-19.

The elections to 204 union parishads and two municipalities and by-polls to the Laxmipur-2 constituency are going to be held today amid coronavirus fears.

India is boosting its production of Covid-19 vaccine, but there is no word yet when it can resume its export of the jabs to Bangladesh, the country’s high commissioner to Bangladesh said yesterday.

Bangladesh has called for an incentive-based and long-term graduation package for the graduating and graduated countries from LDC status as they are at a high risk of sliding back -- both due to the Covid-19 impacts and the loss of LDC support measures.

Bangladesh Medical Research Council has sought documents of the homegrown Bangavax Covid-19 vaccine to further proceed towards allowing its clinical trial.

The Directorate General of Drug Administration (DGDA) has issued emergency use authorisation (EUA) to Johnson & Johnson’s Covid-19 vaccine “Janssen” in the country.

Education Minister Dipu Moni yesterday said there was no conducive atmosphere for reopening educational institutions as the Covid transmission rate was still high.

A recruiting agencies’ platform yesterday demanded that the government immediately arrange Covid-19 vaccines for migrant workers to ensure their smooth migration and save money spent on hotel quarantine.

Transparency International Bangladesh yesterday said instead of terming its report on the government’s Covid-19 response “false and motivated”, the government could better combat the pandemic by taking the measures recommended in the report.

The numbers of Covid-19 deaths and confirmed cases continued to increase and the situation in the border districts kept on getting worse.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Friday that emergency department visits for suspected suicide attempts by teenage girls rose significantly last year compared to 2019, highlighting the mental health impact of the pandemic.

The latest TIB report on the government’s response to Covid-19 consisted of “wrong information from the first to the last”, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said yesterday.

The Election Commission has postponed polls to 163 union parishads in Khulna, Bagerhat, Satkhira, Noakhali, Chattogram and Cox’s Bazar districts due to a surge in Covid-19 cases.

Bangladesh remains among the countries ranked highest for Covid-19 risk by US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as the US national public health agency lowered restriction levels of 110 other countries and territories.

For long-term solution to Covid vaccine supply, Bangladesh needs to go for vaccine production as the crisis for the shots is worldwide, experts said at a webinar yesterday.