The Cabinet on Monday directed the authorities concerned, particularly the Health Minister and the National Technical Advisory Committee on Covid-19, to work on a precise guideline over the campaign of booster dose of Covid-19 vaccine in Bangladesh.

The directive came from a virtual meeting of the Cabinet in the wake of the rapidly transmissible variant ‘Omicron’ in different parts of the world.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina presided over the meeting, joining it from her official residence Ganobhaban.

The other ministers and officials concerned were connected from the Bangladesh Secretariat.

“The technical committee and the Health Minister were instructed so that they remain ready for whether the booster dose would be given free or on payment and place a guideline following discussions,” said Cabinet Secretary Khandker Anwarul Islam while briefing reporters at the Secretariat after the meeting.

He said the Cabinet asked all to remain careful about Omicron as the new Covid-19 strain is spreading rapidly in the world.

“The Prime Minister repeatedly directed that we’ve to be very careful,” said the Cabinet Secretary.

He said the PM also instructed earlier the technical committee to work on a precise guideline over when the booster dose campaign needs to be started.

Since the world renowned scientists recommended booster doses to stay safe from Covid-19, the meeting asked all to keep focus on how the booster doses can be rolled out in Bangladesh, he said.

Mentioning that two people were detected with Omicron in Bangladesh, Anwarul Islam said both of them are men of Bangladesh Cricket Board, who entered the bio-secure bubble at Hotel Pan Pacific Sonargaon, directly from the Airport.

The duo did not come in close contact with anyone at the airport and their family members and any others, he said.

He said he has got a complete protocol over Omicron from his close friends and his spouse who are senior consultants in South Africa.

In the protocol, they said the variant spreads rapidly and its effect is not as dangerous as that of Delta strain, said the Cabinet Secretary.

Also read: Govt decides to administer Covid booster dose to above-60 citizens

Besides, the Cabinet cleared the draft speech of President Md Abdul Hamid to be delivered in the first session of Parliament in the new year of 2022, he said.

The Cabinet gave the final approval to the draft of Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2021 in order to have a precise law instead of regulations. “Now there’s no precise law here. The systems are run on the basis of different regulations,” said the Cabinet Secretary.

The meeting also cleared the draft of Trade Organisations Act, 2021, which would replace the Trade Organisations Ordinance, 1961.

The draft of International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh Act, 2021 seeking to repeal the military regime ordinance over the icddr,b in line with a verdict of the higher court.

The Cabinet also endorsed the list of duty-free goods and certificates of origin for other member countries under the D-8 Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA).

Also read: Covid jabs for city’s slum dwellers start on Tuesday: Health Minister

The meeting also approved the draft amendment to the ratified agreement to be signed between Bangladesh and Maldives for the avoidance of double taxation and prevention of tax evasion.

Anwarul Islam said two countries brought the changes to the clause 28 of the agreement following discussions. The Prime Minister will visit the Maldives on December 22 and 23 next when a trade agreement is likely to be signed, he said.

The Cabinet was informed about the visit of the Bangladesh delegation-led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to the United Kingdoms to participate in the COP-26 held in Glasgow on November 1 and 2 last.

It was also informed about the Prime Minister’s visit to London and Paris from November 03 to November 13 last.