Twenty people died of coronavirus and 1,873 tested positive in the country in the 24 hours to 8:00am, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said on Saturday.

With the latest, the number of coronavirus deaths and infections now stand respectively at 452 and 32,078, said Prof Dr Nasima Sultana, additional director general (administration) of DGHS, during an online press briefing at 2:30pm.

Meanwhile, 296 coronavirus patients recovered, taking the number of total recoveries to 6,486, she said.

The country reported the first cases of coronavirus on March 08 and the first death 10 days later on March 18.

In an effort to contain the virus, the government has since March 26 enforced a countrywide shutdown but numbers of new cases continue to increase.

Known for huge economic activity as well as huge population density, Dhaka city has become the biggest hotspot for coronavirus with accounting for around two-thirds of all cases so far detected in the country.

The districts of Narayanganj and Chattogram, both known for huge economic activity, follow the capital as coronavirus hubs but their combined total pales in comparison to Dhaka’s.

Globally, as of 2:51pm, the deadly virus infected 5,320,834 people, according to worldometers.info, a website that provides real-time updates.

Of them, 340,261 died, 2,169,572 recovered, the data show.

Coronavirus was first reported in China in December last year.

As the virus began sweeping across the world, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the coronavirus crisis a pandemic on March 11.