New Omicron subvariant BF.7 detected

Bangladesh has detected new Omicron sub-variant of coronavirus, BF.7, in one Chinese national, who has been kept in quarantine.

Prof Dr Nazmul Islam, director of Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR), confirmed the matter on Sunday (January 1) after testing his sample’s genome sequence.

Dr Nazmul Islam said the highly contagious new Omicron sub-variant of coronavirus, BF.7, has been detected in the country in one of the four Covid-19 infected Chinese citizens who travelled to Bangladesh from China recently.

Four Chinese citizens who came from China to Bangladesh on Monday (December 26) were sent to isolation as they were detected with Covid-19 during health screening at the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport.

According to a source at the DGHS, Coronavirus infection was detected in the Chinese nationals through the antigen test. The four Chinese nationals were sent to Mohakhali DNCC Hospital for isolation.

When asked about the role of the DGHS in this regard, Dr Nazmul Islam said, “We are closely monitoring the new Omicron sub-variant of coronavirus, BF.7 so that it cannot spread. We are not afraid of this new variant.”