Bangladesh has detected the Omiron variant of Covid-19 in 10 more patients.
With the new cases, the tally of infections from the fast-spreading strain has doubled to 20 in the space of a month. All the patients are residents of Dhaka.
Germany’s Global Initiative on Sharing All Influenza Data, or GISAID announced the detectin of the new cases on Thursday. The GISAID findings were based on the data submitted by the Institute for Developing Science and Health Initiatives (ideSHi) in Dhaka.
Among the latest cases, seven are women aged between 18 and 53. Two of the men are in their 60s.
Bangladesh confirmed its first cases of Omicron on December 9 after the infection was found in two women cricketers, who returned from Zimbabwe.
On Thursday, the government reported 1,140 new Covid-19 cases, the highest in a day since September 29 and a 27.8 per cent jump from the day before.
Covid-19 infections have been surging in recent weeks, prompting fears of a third wave of infections in the country.
In a bid to ward off the threat of Omicron, the government is expected to issue a raft of new restrictions in the coming days.