Due to the recent surge in Covid-19 cases, many Bangladeshis who went to India to travel or to seek medical treatment are returning to Bangladesh through Benapole landport.
About 30,000 people have returned home from India in one week, reports Bangla Tribune.
At the same time, some 19,000 people have travelled to India through the land port as well, said Sharsha Upazila Health Officer Dr Yusuf Ali on Thursday.
Kamal Hossain, a businessman, who returned from India, said that he went to India with the desire to visit Kashmir. However, due to the increased risk of Covid-19 infection in Kolkata, they were forced to return home.
In this regard, Abul Kalam Azad, officer-in-charge of Benapole immigration police, said: "For the past seven days, more people are returning from India than usual. I learned that they are returning to Bangladesh due to fear of the new Covid-19 variant.”
As the new variant of the Coronavirus is more contagious than the previous ones, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) on December 25 directed all ports -- land, air, and sea -- of Bangladesh to increase screening and precautionary measures.
“Apart from the screening, authorities have been instructed to isolate the affected person after testing through rapid antigen test at all ports,” said Prof Dr Ahmedul Kabir, additional director general (administration) of DGHS on Sunday.
The new variant - BF7 - is a sub-variant of Omicron. It is also known as R18. Which means, it can infect 18 people from one affected patient, he added.
The BF7 Omicron sub-variant's full name is BA5217.
SARS-CoV-2 has evolved since it first emerged in 2019 like any other virus. As it evolved, it acquired a number of mutations, leading to a number of variants.
