The reported detection of a new Covid-19 variant in Bangladesh having some similarities to the one spotted in the UK has triggered panic among people.
But health experts in Bangladesh think this strain is less virulent since it mutates with its local characteristics, reports UNB.
They advised people not to be worried about it, but remain cautious, strictly maintain health safety rules and avoid public gatherings together with their kids as children look vulnerable to this variant.
The experts urged the government to stop flight operations with the UK for a few weeks and strengthen monitoring and screening at the airports to prevent the import of the new Covid variant identified in the UK which is up to 70 per cent more infectious than the previous one.
On Thursday, scientists at the Bangladesh Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) said a new strain of coronavirus detected in Bangladesh in early November which has similarities to the new variant of the virus found in the UK.
Dr Selim Khan, principal scientific officer of the BCSIR, said they identified the new strain through the latest sequence of coronaviruses in the first week of November.
He said they found the new strain almost similar to the one identified in the UK. "But it's not cent per cent the same."
