Bangladesh recorded 36 new Covid-19 deaths in a 24-hour period until 8:00 am on Wednesday, pushing the local death tally to 12,949.

With 2,537 fresh cases during this period, the country’s caseload soared to 8,17,819, said a press release issued by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) on Wednesday.

Among the latest day's victims, 17 were men, and 19 were women.

According to the release, 7,57,569 people have recovered so far.

In the last 24 hours, 20,604 samples were collected and 20,558 have been tested. The infection rate is 12.33 per cent.

Coronavirus cases were first reported in China in December 2019. Bangladesh reported its first coronavirus case on March 8, 2020, and the first confirmed Covid-19 related death on March 18.