The weekly COVID-19 fatality rate in Dhaka division has been on the rise for three weeks, according to data supplied by the World Health Organisation.

The division’s weekly fatality rate in the 48th COVID-19 epidemiological week, ending on November 30, as counted by the WHO, was 73.75 per cent, according to the UN public health agency.

The rate was 64.74 per cent in the 47th week while it was 59.84 per cent in the 46th week, the WHO said.

The WHO estimation of the overall COVID-19 fatality rate in Dhaka division now is 52.40 per cent while the estimation by the Directorate General of Health Services is 53.96 per cent.

The DGHS does not provide division-wise weekly breakdown, but the overall rate.

In the past 24 hours, ending at 8:00am Friday, 24 more people died of COVID-19, including 14 in Dhaka division.

With the new deaths, the country’s COVID-19 toll has reached 6,772.

In the same period, 2,252 fresh coronavirus cases were detected, raising the total number of cases to 4,73,991.

The DGHS in its daily update on Friday said that 15,430 samples were tested across the country in the time and 14.59 per cent of them were positive for COVID-19.

The overall COVID-19 positivity rate in the country is now 16.71 per cent although it had dropped to 10-12 per cent in recent weeks, before going above 14 per cent in the last two weeks.

The overall fatality rate is now 1.43 per cent.

Both deaths and cases have increased on the eve of the winter.

The country had 76,268 active cases on Friday while 3,90,951 COVID-19 patients have recovered so far.

Beside the 14 deaths in Dhaka division, the DGHS said, there were three deaths in Mymensingh, two each in Chattogram and Barishal and one each in Rajshahi, Sylhet and Rangpur divisions.

Seventeen of the deceased were aged above 60 years while two each were from the age groups of 51-60 years, 41-50 years and 31-40 years, and one was between 21 and 30 years.