Eighty per cent of the total Covid-19 patients in the country were infected with Delta variant while 20 per cent with Omicron during December 8, 2021-January 8, 2022, says a study.  Supervisor of the Genome Sequencing Research Project Professor Dr Md Sharfuddin Ahmed, Vice Chancellor of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU), on Tuesday revealed the findings of an ongoing survey at a press briefing.  The survey is being conducted by a BSMMU team, led by Dr Laila Anjuman Banu, a professor of Genetics and Molecular Biology and chair of the Department of Anatomy, collecting samples of patients across the country from June 29, 2021 to January 8, this year, he said.  “From the data found, we fear a multiplied surge in the number of Omicron cases in the country in the current month,“ said Dr Sharfuddin.  Nasopharyngeal samples of total 769 patients as representative samples from each division of the country were collected for genome sequencing during the period. READ: Delta variant Covid patients account for 98% in Bangladesh: BSMMU “Some of the Omicron infected patients received two doses of vaccines while a few of them re-infected for the third time with the Delta variant,” the professor added.  Hospitalised patients were not found infected with Omicorn and it might be due to mild symptoms of Omicorn infected patients, he said.  Dr Sharfuddin went on saying, “As patients with mild symptoms are less likely to get them tested for Covid-19, we think there are more Omicron patients in the country who have remained undetected till now.”  From July to December’s first week in 2021, 99.31 per cent patients tested positive with Delta variant while one each sample was of Alpha or UK variant, Beta or South African variant and 20 B variant, according to the genome sequencing data.  According to the survey findings, most of the patients were aged between 21 to 58 years, and children were also infected with Covid-19, revealing that they are not immune to Covid infections.  The mortality rate was found high among the Covid-19 patients with comorbidities like cancer, respiratory disease, heart disease and diabetes. Patients aged above 60 are more likely to die if contracted with the virus for the second time, the study shows. READ: Omicron v. delta: Battle of coronavirus mutants is critical The results revealed today were from the findings of six months and 15 days.  The ongoing research of the BSMMU team aims to create a Covid-19 genome database of Bangladesh, revealing its characteristics, mutation types and its interrelation with the global Covid-19 genome data. Prof Sharfuddin Ahmed said they are hopeful of updating the results of the coming weeks soon.

The discovery of a new coronavirus variant sent a chill through much of the world Friday as nations raced to halt air travel, markets fell sharply and scientists held emergency meetings to weigh the exact risks, which were largely unknown. A World Health Organization panel named the variant “omicron” and classified it as a highly transmissible virus of concern, the same category that includes the delta variant, the world’s most prevalent. The panel said early evidence suggests an increased risk of reinfection. In response, the United States joined the European Union and several other countries in instituting travel restrictions on visitors from southern Africa. The White House said the U.S. will restrict travel from South Africa and seven other countries in the region beginning Monday. It did not give details except to say the restrictions will not apply to returning U.S. citizens or permanent residents, who will continue to be required to test negative before their travel. Medical experts, including the WHO, warned against any overreaction before the variant that originated in southern Africa was better understood. But a jittery world feared the worst nearly two years after COVID-19 emerged and triggered a pandemic that has killed more than 5 million people around the globe. “We must move quickly and at the earliest possible moment,” British Health Secretary Sajid Javid told lawmakers.   There was no immediate indication whether the variant causes more severe disease. As with other variants, some infected people display no symptoms, South African experts said. The WHO panel drew from the Greek alphabet in naming the variant omicron, as it has done with earlier, major variants of the virus. Read: EU wants to stop flights from southern Africa over variant Even though some of the genetic changes appear worrisome, it was unclear if the new variant would pose a significant public health threat. Some previous variants, like the beta variant, initially concerned scientists but did not spread very far. The 27-nation European Union imposed a temporary ban on air travel from southern Africa, and stocks tumbled in Asia, Europe and the United States. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped more than 1,000 points. The S&P 500 index was down 2.3%, on pace for its worst day since February. The price of oil plunged nearly 12%. “The last thing we need is to bring in a new variant that will cause even more problems,” German Health Minister Jens Spahn said. The member nations of the EU have experienced a massive spike in cases recently. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said flights will have to “be suspended until we have a clear understanding about the danger posed by this new variant, and travelers returning from this region should respect strict quarantine rules.” She insisted on extreme caution, warning that “mutations could lead to the emergence and spread of even more concerning variants of the virus that could spread worldwide within a few months.” Belgium became the first European Union country to announce a case of the variant. “It’s a suspicious variant,” Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke said. “We don’t know if it’s a very dangerous variant.”   It has yet to be detected in the United States, said Dr. Anthony Fauci, the U.S. government’s top infectious disease expert. Abroad, the variant “seems to be spreading at a reasonably rapid rate,” he told CNN. And although it may be more transmissible and resistant to vaccines than other variants, “we don’t know that for sure right now.” Read:South African scientists detect new virus variant amid spike Showing how complicated the spread of a variant can be, the Belgian case involved a traveler who returned to Belgium from Egypt on Nov. 11 but did not became sick with mild symptoms until Monday, according to professor Marc Van Ranst, who works for the scientific group overseeing the Belgian government’s COVID-19 response.   Israel, one of the world’s most vaccinated countries, announced Friday that it also detected its first case of the new variant in a traveler who returned from Malawi. The traveler and two other suspected cases were placed in isolation. Israel said all three were vaccinated, but officials were looking into the travelers’ exact vaccination status. After a 10-hour overnight trip, passengers aboard KLM Flight 598 from Capetown, South Africa, to Amsterdam were held on the edge of the runway Friday morning at Schiphol airport for four hours pending special testing. Passengers aboard a flight from Johannesburg were also being isolated and tested. “It’s ridiculous. If we didn’t catch the dreaded bugger before, we’re catching it now,” said passenger Francesca de’ Medici, a Rome-based art consultant who was on the flight. Some experts said the variant’s emergence illustrated how rich countries’ hoarding of vaccines threatens to prolong the pandemic. Fewer than 6% of people in Africa have been fully immunized against COVID-19, and millions of health workers and vulnerable populations have yet to receive a single dose. Those conditions can speed up spread of the virus, offering more opportunities for it to evolve into a dangerous variant. “This is one of the consequences of the inequity in vaccine rollouts and why the grabbing of surplus vaccines by richer countries will inevitably rebound on us all at some point,” said Michael Head, a senior research fellow in global health at Britain’s University of Southampton. He urged Group of 20 leaders “to go beyond vague promises and actually deliver on their commitments to share doses.” The new variant added to investor anxiety that months of progress containing COVID-19 could be reversed. “Investors are likely to shoot first and ask questions later until more is known,” said Jeffrey Halley of foreign exchange broker Oanda. In a sign of how concerned Wall Street has become, the market’s so-called fear gauge known as the VIX jumped 48% to a reading of 26.91. That’s the highest reading for the volatility index since January, before vaccines were widely distributed. Speaking before the EU announcement, Dr. Michael Ryan, head of emergencies at the WHO, warned against “knee-jerk responses.” “We’ve seen in the past, the minute there’s any kind of mention of any kind of variation and everyone is closing borders and restricting travel,” Ryan said. “It’s really important that we remain open and stay focused.” The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agreed and strongly discouraged any travel bans on countries that reported the new variant. It said past experience shows that such travel bans have “not yielded a meaningful outcome.” Yet the U.S. announced restrictions on visitors from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, and Malawi, hours after governments took similar steps. The U.K. banned flights from South Africa and five other southern African countries at noon on Friday and announced that anyone who had recently arrived from those countries would be asked to take a coronavirus test. The Japanese government announced that Japanese nationals traveling from Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, South Africa and Lesotho will have to quarantine at government-dedicated accommodations for 10 days and take COVID-19 tests on the third, sixth and tenth days. Japan has not yet opened up to foreign nationals. Fauci said U.S. public health officials were talking Friday with South African colleagues. “We want to find out scientist to scientist exactly what is going on.” The WHO’s technical working group says coronavirus infections jumped 11% in the past week in Europe, the only region in the world where COVID-19 continues to rise. The WHO’s Europe director, Dr. Hans Kluge, warned that without urgent measures, the continent could see an additional 700,000 deaths by the spring. Associated Press writers Lorne Cook in Brussels, Colleen Barry in Milan, Pan Pylas in London, Jamey Keaten in Geneva, Mike Corder in The Hague, Dave McHugh in Frankfurt, Carley Petesch in Dakar, Andrew Meldrum in Johannesburg and Frank Jordans in Berlin contributed to this report.

Are COVID-19 boosters the same as the original vaccines? Yes, COVID-19 boosters use the same recipe as the original shots, despite the emergence of the more contagious delta variant. The vaccines weren't tweaked to better match delta because they're still working well. Read:Covid vaccine: India-made Covaxin approved by WHO for emergency use The vaccines work by training your body to recognize and fight the spike protein that coats the coronavirus and helps it invade the body’s cells. Delta’s mutations fortunately weren’t different enough to escape detection. The increased protection you might get from a booster adjusted to better match the delta or other variants would be marginal, says Dr. Paul Goepfert, director of the Alabama Vaccine Research Clinic at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Manufacturing doses with a new formula would have also delayed the rollout of boosters. Read: Indonesia first to greenlight Novavax COVID-19 vaccine Moderna and Pfizer are studying boosters tweaked for the delta and other variants to be ready if one's ever needed. Health authorities would have to decide if and when a vaccine formula swap would be worthwhile. “What we don’t know,” Goepfert noted, “is if you have a delta vaccine compared to the regular vaccine, does it actually work better in preventing transmission or asymptomatic infection?” The U.S. has authorized booster doses of the Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson vaccines for certain people, and a few other countries also are using boosters of those shots or other COVID-19 vaccines.

The overall number of global Covid cases is gradually approaching 232 million amid spread of Delta variant. According to Johns Hopkins University (JHU), the total case count mounted to 231,820,802 with 4,748,055 fatalities as of Monday morning. The US has recorded 42,931,354 cases to date and more than 688,032 people have died so far from the virus in the country, said university data. Read: COVID-19 vaccine boosters could mean billions for drugmakers With more than 40 million doses of coronavirus vaccines available, U.S. health authorities said they’re confident there will be enough for both qualified older Americans seeking booster shots and the young children for whom initial vaccines are expected to be approved in the not-too-distant future, reports AP. The spike in demand — expected following last week’s federal recommendation on booster shots — would be the first significant jump in months. More than 70 million Americans remain unvaccinated despite the enticement of lottery prizes, free food or gifts and pleas from exhausted health care workers as the average number of deaths per day climbed to more than 1,900 in recent weeks. Brazil which has been experiencing new wave of cases since January, registered 21,351,972 cases. Brazil's Covid-19 death toll has also risen to 594,443. Read:Full-scale Covid testing at Dhaka airport starts Tuesday India's COVID-19 tally rose to 33,652,745 on Sunday, as 28,326 new cases were registered during the past 24 hours across the country, showed the federal health ministry's latest data. Besides, as many as 260 deaths due to the pandemic during the period took the total death toll to 446,918. Situation in Bangladesh Covid-19 in Bangladesh claimed 21 more lives and infected 980 others in 24 hours till Sunday morning. This is the lowest number of deaths since May 26 when the country reported 17 single-day Covid deaths. The latest cases were detected after testing 22,221 samples showing a slight fall in the daily-case positivity rate from Saturday’s 4.59 percent to 4.41 percent, said the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). On Saturday, after more than four months, the country saw below 1,000 single-day cases, reporting 818 Covid cases in 24-hour period. According to the DGHS, the fresh numbers of deaths and cases took the country’s total Covid-19 fatalities to 27,414 while the caseload mounted to 1,551,351. Read: Covid daily death toll falls to 21 in Bangladesh Meanwhile, the mortality rate remained static at 1.77 percent. The recovery rate increased slightly to 97.43 percent with the recovery of 1,312 more patients during the period. So far, 1,511,479 people have recovered from the deadly virus infections, the DGHS added. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the daily case positivity rate remaining at 5 percent or below for 14 days is considered safe for mass unlocking.

Is the delta variant of the coronavirus worse for kids? No, experts say there’s no strong evidence yet that it makes children and teens sicker than earlier versions of the virus, although delta has led to a surge in infections among kids because it’s more contagious. Read: 'Sputnik V's efficacy against Delta varies from 83-94%' Delta’s ability to spread more easily makes it more of a risk to children and underscores the need for masks in schools and vaccinations for those who are old enough, said Dr. Juan Dumois, a pediatric infectious disease physician at Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida. Weekly infection rates among U.S. children earlier this month topped 250,000, surpassing the wintertime peak, according to data from the American Academy of Pediatrics and Children’s Hospital Association. Since the pandemic began, more than 5 million children in the U.S. have tested positive for COVID-19. The delta variant has been identified in at least 180 countries, according to the World Health Organization. In many of them, the spike in infections has also meant an increase in hospitalizations in young children and teens. In the U.S., the hospitalization rate for COVID-19 was less than 2 per 100,000 children in late August and early September — similar to the peak last winter, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the portion of kids hospitalized with severe disease hasn’t changed significantly. Read:'10 times fewer virus particles needed to catch Delta variant' The sheer numbers can make it seem like children are getting sicker with the delta variant, but experts say that does not appear to be the case. Most infected kids have mild infections or no symptoms and do not need to be hospitalized. COVID-19 vaccines continue to provide protection against delta. Among children 12 and older — who are eligible for COVID-19 vaccinations — the weekly hospitalization rate in July was 10 times higher for the unvaccinated than those who have had the shots, CDC data show.

Sitting on her mother’s lap, 2-year-old Lucía looked at the illustrations in her book while around her several children watched the doctors in white coats and nurses with thermometers in amazement. In an adjoining room, Danielito, also 2, sniffled while getting a shot as a clown tried to distract him. Cuba on Thursday began a massive vaccination campaign for children between the ages of 2 and 10, becoming one of the first nations to do so. Health officials here say Cuba’s homegrown vaccines have been found safe to give to young children. “Our country would not put (infants) even at a minimal risk if the vaccines were not proven save and highly effective when put into children,” Aurolis Otaño, director of the Vedado Polyclinic University, told The Associated Press in a vaccination room. Also read: UK OKs vaccines for 12 year olds, aims to avoid lockdowns Otaño said the circulation of the Delta variant produced an increase in infections among the youngest, so Cuba’s scientific community decided to “take the vaccine to clinical trial” and it was approved for children. The Polyclinic expects to vaccinate about 300 children between 2 and 5. Those between 5 and 10 are receiving their first shot at their schools. Lucía’s mother, Denisse González, watched the children in the vaccination room while waiting the hour that her daughter had to be under observation after being vaccinated. “I was very doubtful and worried at first, really, but I informed myself,” she said. “Our children’s health is first and foremost, which is the main thing and (contagion) is a risk because young children are always playing on the floor,” added González, a 36-year-old engineer. In previous weeks, the vaccination of Cubans between 11 and 18 began. The plan includes two doses of Soberana 02 vaccine and one of Soberana Plus, as was done with adults. Cuba faces a persistent COVID-19 outbreak that almost collapsed its health-care system. Provinces such as Matanzas, Ciego de Ávila and Cienfuegos received support from doctors from other parts of the country and even from international donors. Also read: Global vaccine disparity gets sharper amid talk of boosters In addition to the Soberanas, Cuba has developed another national vaccine, Abdala. According to Cuba’s Ministry of Health, 776,125 positive cases of COVID-19 have been registered with 6,601 deaths. In June, Chinese regulators approved the use of the Sinovac and Sinopharm vaccines for children ages 3 to 17. The United States and many European countries currently allow COVID-19 vaccinations for children 12 and older. Children have largely escaped the worst of the pandemic and show less severe symptoms when they contract the virus. But experts say children can pass the virus on to others and suffer negative consequences. “As more adults receive their COVID-19 vaccines, children, who are not yet eligible for vaccines in most countries, account for a higher percentage of hospitalizations and even deaths,” said Carissa F. Etienne, director of the Pan American Health Organization. “We must be clear: children and young people also face significant risks.”

Bangladesh logged 52 Covid-19 deaths and 2,497 cases in 24 hours till Wednesday morning, showing a decline in single-day fatalities and cases compared to the ones a day before. The country reported 56 Covid-related deaths and 2,639 cases on Monday, a very hopeful sign that the pandemic may be easing in Bangladesh. The daily case positivity rate also fell slightly to 9.07% from Tuesday’s 9.69%, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). The fresh numbers pushed the country’s total fatalities to 26,736 while the cases reached 15,22,302, the DGHS said.  The new cases were detected after testing 27,528 samples during the 24-hour period. Besides, the recovery rate rose to 96.21 %, while the case fatality remained unchanged at 1.76 per cent compared to the corresponding period. READ: Covid in Bangladesh: Single-day fatalities fall to 56 The country last saw 54 Coronavirus-related deaths on June 18 and the upswing in the fatalities reached its peak on August 5 and 10 when 264 deaths were recorded. However, the situation was much more catastrophic than June in the latter part of August as the country experienced a surge of Covid-related caseloads and deaths during that time. READ: Covid cases, fatalities continue to fall in Bangladesh Between May and June this year, there was a 273% rise in monthly caseloads and 162% in fatalities. In July, there was a 150% increase in caseloads and a 170% rise in deaths compared to the previous month, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The Philippines will lift the restrictions imposed on travellers from Bangladesh and nine other countries from Monday. In a statement, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said that President Rodrigo Duterte has approved the recommendation of the pandemic task force to lift the ban on travellers coming from these countries. The countries are Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, according to a news carried by Philstar.com and shared by the Embassy of Philippines on its verified Facebook page. Also read: Delta concerns: Philippines extends travel ban for Bangladesh, 9 other countries The travel ban was imposed in a bid to ward off the hyper contagious Delta variant, which is now driving a surge in COVID-19 infections in the country. International travellers coming from the abovementioned countries will, however, have to comply with the appropriate entry, testing and quarantine protocols, depending on the country’s approved ‘listing.' Also read: Philippines reopens gyms, museums as surge ebbs

Just when people were letting their guards down, thinking they had seen the worst of Covid, single day deaths at RMCH doubled on Monday. As many as 14 people died of Covid-related reasons at Rajshahi Medical College and Hospital (RMCH) in the past 24 hours, health officials said on Monday. The number was seven the previous day. Read: 9 more die of Covid at Rajshahi hospital The number of Covid-related deaths in the hospital was below 10 for the past six days after shattering all grim records in July and the better part of August. Of the fresh deaths, seven were confirmed Covid-19 patients,  six  showed symptoms of the virus and one more died due to post-Covid complications, said hospital director Brigadier General Shamim Yeazdani. Of the deceased, four were from Rajshahi, two  from Chapainawabganj, five from  Natore and one each from Naogaon, Pabna, and Meherpur. While seven  of them were men, the remaining seven  were women. Shamim said that 29 people have been admitted to the corona unit of the hospital in the past 24 hours. On the other hand, some 25 people were discharged from the hospital after recovery during the period. Read: Covid: 13 more die at Rajshahi hospital Besides, some 161 people are currently undergoing treatment in the 513-bed corona unit of the hospital. RMCH has been one of the most stretched hospitals in the country during the second wave of Covid-19, particularly since the latter part of May when the deadly Delta variant of the virus was identified in multiple samples of Rajshahi division.

The global Covid-19 caseload is fast nearing 216 million as the highly contagious Delta variant continues to devastate several countries. The total caseload and fatalities from the virus stand at 215,926,290 and 4,493, 941 respectively, as of Sunday morning, according to Johns Hopkins University (JHU). So far, 5,167,787,650 Covid vaccine doses have been administered across the globe. Read: How Long Will Your COVID-19 Coronavirus Vaccination Protection Last? The US has logged 38,756,333 cases and 637,241 deaths to date, according to the JHU data. The death toll in the United States is the highest in the world. Brazil currently has the world's second-highest pandemic death toll after the United States and the third-largest caseload after the United States and India. The country has recorded 20,728,605 cases with 579,010 fatalities so far, according to the health ministry. The third worst-hit country, India's Covid-19 tally rose to 32,649, 947 on Saturday while the death toll from the virus mounted to 437,370. Situation in Bangladesh The single-day Covid death toll in Bangladesh fell below 100 for the first time in more than two months with 80 more people perishing in the last 24 hours till Saturday morning. Read: Covid fatalities shrink below 100 after 2 months During the same period 3,436 people tested positive for the deadly virus, according to the Directorate General of Health Services. The country reported 77 Covid fatalities on June 26 and the highest 264  on August 5 and 10. The highest number of infections was logged at 16,230 infections on July 28. Since the start of the Covid pandemic in March last year, Bangladesh has recorded 14,89,589 infections and 25,926 deaths, according to the DGHS.