The newly detected sub-variant of Omicron, the South African variant of coronavirus, can be even more contagious, warned the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

There is no alternative to abiding by the health protocols to stay safe, DGHS spokesperson Dr Md Nazmul Islam said at the daily briefing on Covid-19 situation on Wednesday.

Read: DGHS shortens isolation period for Covid patients to 10 days

Nazmul Islam said the sub-variant of Omicron has already been detected in 57 countries in the world.

Citing various studies, the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that this sub-variant might be more contagious than before and if it is more infectious it may create greater risks, the official added.

Nazmul said it is necessary to act responsibly, including following the hygiene rules, so that the number of infected people cannot increase further.

The pressure on the ICU, HDU and oxygen supply in hospitals will increase with the rise in the number of patients. "We’re ready to tackle this pressure," said the official.

Central oxygen lines have already been set up in 119 hospitals and more than 29,000 oxygen cylinders, 2,000 high-flow nasal cannula and 2,300 Oxygen concentrators are being used, he said.

"If we look at Covid-linked deaths as per age, the highest number of deaths was reported among people of the 61-70 age group," he said.

Meanwhile, as per division-wise deaths, the highest 12,451 deaths were reported in Dhaka division which is more than 43.80 per cent of the total deaths.

Read: Omicron replacing Delta through community transmission: DGHS

Besides, Dr Nazmul added that efforts are on to find out how many people among the deceased were vaccinated and how many not.  

In January, the country reported 322 Covid-linked deaths and 73% of them were unvaccinated, said Dr Nazmul.

Among the 322 deaths during the period, 234 were unvaccinated patients while 18 received the first dose, 68 the second dose and 2 the third dose, he added.