Dhaka, May 13 (IANS) The number of novel coronavirus cases in Bangladesh soared to 17,822 after 1,162 people, in the steepest single-day jump, tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, according to government data on Wednesday.

Another 214 patients were discharged from hospitals in the same period, bringing the tally of recoveries to 3,361, DGHS Additional Director General Nasima Sultana said in a media briefing.

Globally, over 4.26 million people have been infected by the novel coronavirus and 291,981 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, Bdnews 24 reported.

--IANS sdr/bg