Positivity rate on decline for six days
The transmission of novel coronavirus continued to decline for the sixth consecutive day as the health directorate reported a 16.95 percent positivity rate yesterday.
This indicates a steady decline from 24 percent on Saturday.
The number of fatalities, on the other hand, remained high with the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) reporting 41 Covid-19 patients died yesterday.
Meantime, a total of 7,264 new cases were detected countrywide.
Fueled by the Omicron variant of coronavirus, the country witnessed a skyrocketing case detection every day since the first week of January.
The DGHS reported the highest-ever 33.37 percent positivity rate on January 28.
Earlier, health officials said the Omicron variant started replacing the Delta variant, which caused a health disaster in June and July last year.
Yesterday, the Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) and the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) in separate reports said that the Omicron variant was the most prevalent variant from January 1 to February 9.
The IEDCR study report revealed some 80 percent of Covid-19 patients were infected with the Omicron variant of novel coronavirus.
The rest 20 percent were infected with the Delta variant, according to a report published by the IEDCR on its website yesterday.
IEDCR conducted a genome sequence of 148 patients in collaboration with three other research organisations including the International Centre for Diarrheal Disease Research, Bangladesh, the Institute for Developing Science and Health Initiatives and the Child Health Research Foundation.
Of all samples sequenced, 118 were Omicron variant and 30 Delta. Of the Omicron variant, 39 percent were BA.1 sub-variant and 41 percent were BA.2 sub-variant.
On December 9, the first two cases of Omicron were reported in the country.
Meanwhile, the data analysis of the BSMMU showed that 82 percent of Covid-19 patients -- detected between January 19 and February 9 -- were infected with Omicron and 18 percent with Delta variant.
Prof Md Sharfuddin Ahmed, the vice-chancellor of the BSMMU, also chief supervisor of the Genome Sequencing Research Project, disclosed the information yesterday in an event on the campus.
With the latest count, the total number of fatalities owing to novel coronavirus infection rose to 28,744.
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