Health and Family Welfare Minister Zahid Malek has said that 69 percent of those infected with coronavirus in the country are suffering from new type of omicron. He told reporters at the secretariat on Monday.
The minister said, “The samples we tested in Dhaka, the genome sequencing, showed that the omicron (infected) has now risen to 69 percent. Which was 13 percent before. We have received this information in the last 10 days. We think the rate will be the same outside Dhaka.”
At a function in Dhaka on Wednesday, Zahid Malek said that “15-20 per cent” of the infected people were infected with a new variant of coronavirus. On the same day, the Department of Health reported the first omicron outbreak outside Dhaka.
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The health minister said at the secretariat today that the government is worried that the number of victims is increasing day by day. For this reason, he requested everyone to follow the hygiene rules.
He said delta and omicron infestations are on the rise. We are a little worried and panicked about this. In the last 15 days, the detection rate has come down to 18 percent. As it grows, it will not take long for the detection rate to exceed 30 percent.
“The number of hospital admissions is also increasing. As it is growing now, there will be no place for hospital in the next one-and-a-half months. Then it will be difficult to give treatment. For this reason, I am urging the people to abide by the rules of hygiene. Maintain social distance,” he said.
On December 11, two women cricketers returning to Zimbabwe were officially reported to have been infected with Omicron.
Also Read: World Nations Are Trying to Balance Omicron Restrictions
The GISAID website has information on identifying Omicron variants in the bodies of one person on December 27 and four people on December 28, three people on December 31, 10 people on January 6, one person on January 7, nine people on January 10, three people on January 12 and 22 people on Sunday.
The first case of coronavirus was reported in Basabo area of Dhaka. Later patients were found in Banani and Mohakhali. After identifying Omicron in Jessore outside Dhaka, this new variant of coronavirus has been found in Chankharpul and Uttara of Dhaka.
However, at a function in Dhaka on Wednesday, Health Minister Zahid Malek said that a new variant of coronavirus, Omicron, has started social transmission (community transmission) in the country.