Bangladesh has recorded 2,459 new cases of the coronavirus infection in a day, raising the tally of infections to 204,525.

The death toll climbed to 2,618 after 37 people, including 29 men and eight women, died from COVID-19 in the 24 hours to 8am Sunday, according to the health directorate.

The recovery count also jumped by 1,546 to 111,642 in the same period, DGHS Additional Director General Nasima Sultana said in a media briefing. It brings the recovery rate to 54.59 percent, while the mortality rate currently stands at 1.28 percent.

A total of 10,625 samples were tested at authorised labs across the country in the last 24 hours with a positivity rate of 23.14 percent.

Globally, over 14.92 million people have been infected by the novel coronavirus and 602,157 have died, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University.

Infections have been reported in more than 210 countries and territories since the first cases were identified in China in December 2019.