Bangkok (People's Daily) - Bangladesh on Wednesday confirmed 3,489 new cases of the COVID-19 coronavirus, bringing the total to 172,134 since the virus first arrived in the country in March.

A total of 80,838 patients have recovered and returned home, and 2,197 have died from complications related to the disease, according to Bangladesh 's Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The Bangladesh government issued a notice on June 15 to re-block severely hit areas of the country, and the army was deployed to these areas to strengthen the implementation of epidemic prevention measures. 

Bangladesh first reported confirmed cases of COVID-19 on March 8, and the number of new daily cases has continued to rise. Since the end of April, the Bangladesh government has gradually loosened controls, and has allowed factories to resume production and stores to open.

(Photo: VCG)