Sonamsjid land port authorities have taken additional cautionary measures to prevent the spread of Omicron BF.7, a new sub-variant of Covid-19. Following the instruction of the Director General of Health Services (DGHS) some additional measures have been taken to prevent the new sub-variant of Covid-19, said Dr. SM Mahmudur Rashid, civil surgeon of Chapainawabganj. Indian truck drivers and their helpers are being allowed to enter the country through the border after health screening, he added. Besides, the members of the medical teams are doing their routine works at the port, Rashid said. Earlier on Sunday, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) issued an alert at airports, land ports and seaports as the new sub-variant BF.7 of Omicron was detected in China and India. It also asked the authorities concerned to take steps so that people, coming from those countries, go through tests and digital thermal scanner and thermometer are used at the entry points of the country. Meanwhile, four returnees from China were sent to isolation after they tested positive for Covid-19 at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport in Dhaka Monday (December 26) afternoon.      

Two Bangladeshis have been infected with a new sub-variant of the Omicron variant of Covid-19, said Jashore University of Science and Technology (JUST) researchers on Tuesday. A team of researchers at JUST Genome Center detected the sub-variant named BA.4/5 through a partial (spike protein) genome sequence of the virus collected from two infected people in Jashore, said a press release signed by Md Abdur Rashid, assistant director (Public relations) of JUST. Also read:Covid-19: Positivity rate rises to 11.03%, One more dies According to the research team, the two patients were men, aged 44 and 79 years old. One infected person received a booster dose against Covid while another vaccinated with two doses. One of the infected is undergoing treatment at the hospital and the other is at home. They have some mild symptoms including fever, sore throat and cough. Researchers believe that both of them have been infected locally. The research team further said that this new sub-variant has a mutation similar to Omicron in the spike protein. This sub-variant was detected in southern India in late May. This is responsible for the fifth wave of Covid infection in South Africa and the recent third wave in India, believes the scientists. People who have been vaccinated are also being infected by this sub-variant. In the future, this sub-variant may cause more infections than any other sub-variant, they said. Also read: Govt hopes FY2023 will be final year of Covid pandemic: Document JUST vice chancellor and director of the genome center Dr Md Anwar Hossain said this sub-variant is able to evade the human immune system easily. There is no substitute for strict adherence to health protocols, including wearing masks.   “It will be possible to know more by sequencing the complete genome of this sub-variant soon,” he added. This new sub-variant was detected under the leadership of Iqbal Kabir, chairman of the Department of Microbiology and associate director of the Genome Center.