AMN/ WEB DESK
The government of Bangladesh started a special program to provide COVID 19 booster doses to the diplomats stationed in Dhaka on Sunday. Foreign Minister Dr A. K. Abdul Momen inaugurated the program. Diplomats from several countries took the booster dose at the Sheikh Russel Gastroliver Institute & Hospital in Dhaka.
Speaking to the media on this occasion, Foreign Minister Dr A K Abdul Momen said that the government is not considering a lockdown as the fatality rate due to the Omicron variant is very low. But the government is considering reducing the number of passengers allowed in all kinds of transport.
High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh Vikram Doraiswami urged people of Bangladesh to avoid visit to India unless essential in view of the surge in Omicron cases. However, he assured that visa operations will continue to function in Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, the COVID situation in Bangladesh continued to show an increasing number of daily infections and a rise in sample positivity rate on Sunday. According to the latest bulletin released by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), 1491 new cases were reported on Sunday marking an increase of more than 30 percent over the figure of 1146 cases on Saturday. On a weekly basis also, the number of new cases has more than doubled last week compared to the week earlier.
The sample positivity rate has also continued to rise. On Sunday, the sample positivity rate was reported to be 6.78 percent compared to 5.79 percent on Saturday.
In view of the rising cases of COVID in the country Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has urged people to take the vaccine without any fear. She said that the government has arranged for 31 crore vaccines so that none is left unvaccinated. She said that more than 13 crore vaccine doses have already been provided to people in Bangladesh.