Hospitals in Khulna have to send samples to Dhaka, since the district’s health department lacks the technology to detect the Omicron variant.
There has been an increase in Covid-19 cases recently across a number of districts, hence it was decided to send the positive samples to Institute of Epidemiology Disease Control And Research (IEDCR) to confirm if they were of the Omicron variant, said Khulna Health Department (Disease Control) Assistant Director Dr Ferdousi Akhter.
The test samples of people who entered Khulna from other countries are also being sent to the IEDCR for further testing. However, no Omicron cases have been reported so far, she added.
Vice-Chancellor Mehdi Newaz of Khulna Medical College Hospital (KMCH) said the Covid-19 positive samples are being sent to Dhaka as the IEDCR has the facilities for genome sequencing to detect Omicron.
KMCH has a unit of 200-bed Covid-19 unit but at present 130 beds are available. The remaining beds will be made available if patients increase, he added.
Khulna Civil Surgeon Dr Niaz Mohammad said only the Covid-19 unit at KMCH is operational at the moment. Several other hospitals are being prepared as the Covid-19 cases are rising.