Staff Correspondent: Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Maleque on Monday said Bangladesh witnessed low COVID-19 fatality rate as the government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has taken multiple preventive measures to deal with the pandemic. “Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has been lauded globally as her government is effectively handling the coronavirus with 1.31 percent death rate from the deadly disease,” he told a media briefing at his ministry here, an official release said.

Secretary of Health Service Division Md Abdul Mannan and Secretary of Health Education Division Md Ali Nur, heads of different relevant organizations of the ministry, among others, were present at the briefing.

Maleque said COVID-19 infection is gradually decreasing in the country as the government has taken various initiatives to contain the spread of the lethal virus.

Many countries including the UK and China are in the final stage for developing COVID-19 vaccine, he said, adding, “We are constantly overseeing global development on COVID-19 vaccine… the government is keeping connections with those countries, who are performing phase-3 human trial on invention of inoculation.”

Expressing his optimism to collect COVID-19 vaccine, the minister said Bangladesh would be able to collect the coronavirus vaccine within shortest possible time from the countries, which are frontrunners in vaccine development.