The authorities have intensified health screening at Hili land port as the highly contagious new Omicron sub-variant of coronavirus, BF.7 has been detected in India.
Dinajpur District administration organized an awareness meeting to follow health rules to prevent spread of the new Omicron variant.
On January 1, the highly contagious new Omicron sub-variant of coronavirus, BF.7, was detected in the country, Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) sources said.
"The presence of a new variant was confirmed in the genome sequence reports of one of the four Covid-19 infected Chinese citizens," it added.
Four passengers from China tested positive for Covid-19 at HazratShahjalal International Airport recently after the authorities geared up health screening as they fear the spread of a sub-variant of Omicron, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) sources said.
The new variant is capable of infecting many people within a shorter period, it said adding: "The new sub-variant of Omicron is four times higher transmissible and the incubation period is shorter enabling it to infect many people at a time."
A patient infected with Omicron sub-variant BF.7 has been found in Bangladesh, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) confirmed on Sunday.
He is one of the four returnees from China who tested positive for Covid-19 at HazratShahjalal International Airport in Dhaka on Monday and were then kept in isolation, said Prof. DrNajmul Islam, director (diseases control) of Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).
DrNazmul said they are not worried about detection of Omicron sub-variant case in the country.
“We don’t anyone to get panicked as our positivity rate is now below one percent. But we have taken the matter seriously and trying to prevent its spread,” he said.
Replying to a question, he said that they are closely monitoring the situation and testing those regularly who are returning to the country from the affected countries.
Those who tested positive for Covid-19 are being sent to the isolation centers, he added.
In the wake of the surge in the new sub-variant of Covid-19 infections, Omicron BF.7, in different countries including China and India, the government has asked all to take necessary steps in maintaining health guidelines in all airports, land ports and river ports across the country.
The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) issued a notice in this regard on December 26.
The emergence of new sub-variant Omicron BF.7 is most likely responsible for the current surge of COVID-19 infection in China, India and other countries which is more transmissible, said DGHS.
To contain the spread of Covid, DGHS has instructed the authorities concerned to strengthen surveillance and screening of people coming to Bangladesh from countries including China, India, Japan, South Korea, USA, France, Brazil and Germany.
