The border areas of Thakurgaon have been sealed off in the wake of a sudden spike in Covid-19 cases in the district, officials said on Thursday. Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) personnel have been asked to step up vigil along the border with neighbouring India to prevent the spread of the Indian Covid-19 variant in this country, according to Lt Colonel Md Maksud, the commanding officer of BGB-50 Thakurgaon Battalion. Read: Bangladesh’s frontier districts brace for Covid ‘catastrophe’: Experts Deputy Commissioner KM Kamruzzaman said the bordering areas have been sealed off so as to prevent the transmission of the Indian variant of Covid-19. According to sources, as many as 36 people in the district tested positive for Covid-19 between May 28 and June 2. Thakurgaon Civil Surgeon Dr Mahfuzar Rahman Sarkar said that 1,705 people have tested positive for Covid-19 to date, and of them, 1,570 people have recovered. Read: Covid protocols go for a toss at Sonahat Land Port Some 36 people have died so far from the virus in the district. Already a 50-bed corona unit has been opened at Sadar Hospital in the district and an isolation ward at upazila health complex has been prepared for treating Covid-19 patients, he said. Meanwhile, sources said a liquid oxygen plant set up at Sadar Hospital five months ago is yet to be made operational due to a shortage of manpower.  However, health authorities said the oxygen plant will start functioning from this month only. Read:Covid-19: Strict restrictions imposed in Rajshahi, parts of Khulna, Naogaon "A ventilator is also lying unused at Sadar Hospital due to a lack of skilled manpower," said Dr Nadirul Aziz Chapal, a supervisor at the hospital. "If the Indian Covid variant is detected here, it would be really tough for us to tackle the situation," he said.