7 more cases of Omicron variant detected in Bangladesh

Seven more cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 have been detected in Bangladesh, taking the total tally to 62 as for Thursday, according to the Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data (GISAID), the global database for genomic data on the coronavirus. 

On December 11, Bangladesh reported its first two cases of the Omicron variant in two members of the Bangladesh women cricket team.

They had returned from Zimbabwe after taking part in the ICC Women's World Cup qualifiers. The event was, however, called off midway due to the surge of Omicron.

As the upward trend of daily Covid-19 cases driven by the Delta variant continues in the country, the number of active cases has seen an alarming 700% increase since the beginning of the year.

The number of confirmed cases minus the number of recovered cases and deaths are considered as active cases.

However, despite the massive jump, the latest figure is still much lower than those reported during the worst spell of Covid in the country last year.

Bangladesh’s active caseload peaked on July 20, at 159,224. For nearly three weeks since mid-July last year, the figure averaged around 150,000. 

On January 1 this year, there were merely 8,529 active cases—but the figure skyrocketed to 59,850 on Wednesday. The latest count is the highest since August 26 last year, when 59,014 cases were registered.

Also, it was the last time that the cases were the closest to the harrowing 60,000 mark. 

The country once again reached the grim tally of almost 60,000 cases as it logged 9,500 new Covid-19 cases and 12 deaths in a 24-hour span till 8am on Wednesday.

Moreover, 473 people recovered from the disease over the period. Dhaka Tribune