Officials reported 230 deaths from Covid-19 yesterday, the highest ever single-day toll in the country, which is facing a bleak reality as the prevalence of the more contagious Delta variant increases despite the "strict lockdown".

Health officials said the worst has yet to come and the situation could take a turn for the worse next week if runaway infections are not reined in.

The country also recorded the highest number of new cases -- 11,874 -- in the 24 hours preceding 8:00am yesterday, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

"There will be no hospital beds available in the next seven to 10 days if the current infection rate and patients' rush to hospitals continue," DGHS Spokesperson Dr Robed Amin told a virtual briefing yesterday.

As of yesterday noon, only 301 out of 1,263 ICU beds were vacant across the country, according to DGHS data.

Robed said the Delta variant of coronavirus is causing deaths not just of older patients but also of younger ones.

Earlier, the Institute of Epidemiology and Disease Control (IEDCR) said the Delta variant caused 78 percent of the infections in the samples on which they did genome sequencing in June.

Experts said the country is already in a "disastrous" situation and it could turn bleaker around the Eid holidays later this month. They also said the government should extend the lockdown -- currently in force till July 14 -- to stem the surge of the virus, which has reached even the remote villages.

Of the 230 deaths in the 24-hour period, Khulna division saw the highest 66 deaths followed by 56 in Dhaka, 39 in Chattogram, 26 in Rajshahi, 22 in Rangpur, eight each in Barishal and Sylhet, and five in Mymensingh divisions, according to the DGHS.

Meanwhile, State Minister for Shipping Khalid Mahmud Chowdhury said yesterday that the government might extend the lockdown if the National Technical Advisory Committee (NTAC) on Covid-19 recommends.

"The current situation is not suitable to return to normal life," he told reporters at the secretariat yesterday.

Robed Amin said, "Covid-19 has spread to all districts in all divisions and it has been rising. The deaths too are increasing… If we can't control it in the next one week, the situation will turn miserable."

'RESTRICTIONS SHOULD STAY'

Saying many are still going outdoors even though there is no urgency to do so, Robed Amin urged people to properly adhere to health safety guidelines.

Experts also said the impact of the ongoing lockdown, enforced since July 1, has been less than expected even after 11 days.

IEDCR Consultant Prof Mushtuq Hussain told The Daily Star: "There will be a rising trend in deaths next week. The transmission has not fallen despite the lockdown. So, there is no alternative to continuing the restrictions."

He feared that the transmission will intensify in the cities after the upcoming Eid festival if the government relaxes lockdown for economic activities and people travel to their home districts for Eid-ul-Azha, which will be celebrated on July 21.

Infectious diseases specialist Prof Ridwanur Rahman said, "The number of tests in rural areas is inadequate. Patients are coming from those areas to the district hospitals late, mainly due to lack of transportation during lockdown."

Dr Mushtuq Hussain urged the government to set up community level hospitals by engaging the communities.

"There has been a move to build five new field hospitals in Dhaka. But building field hospitals at the community level is more important," Dr Mushtuq said.

On Saturday, Health Minister Zahid Maleque announced the convention centre of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University would be turned into a Covid-19 field hospital.

The Delta variant which is far more transmissible than most strains of the coronavirus brought the healthcare system in India to its knees. Since it was first detected in Bangladesh on May 8, the variant caused health disasters across the Khulna and Rajshahi regions before spreading to other parts of the country.