Voicing deep concerns over the emergence of a new sub-variant of COVID-19 sub-variant, Director General of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), Dr Abu Jafor of Wednesday urged all to avoid all forms of public gatherings.
The DGHS DG came up with the call while speaking at a press briefing at the DGHS.
He also called on nationals to reintroduce health-conscious practices, including the use of face masks and frequent hand washing.
Speaking on the ongoing vaccination campaign, Dr Jafor said booster doses should be administered again to people over the age of 18, pregnant women, individuals above 60 and those who are immune compromised, depending on the evolving situation.
Those eligible can receive their booster shots by visiting the nearest vaccination center, he added.
The DGHS DG also requested political parties to refrain from organising rallies or public gatherings in the current situation.
Regarding the upcoming Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) examinations, he said that a decision would be made in coordination with the Ministry of Education.
According to the DGHS report, 13 fresh COVID-19 cases were reported in Bangladesh in the last 24 hours till Tuesday morning.
With the latest figure, the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country has risen to 20,51,760.
The death toll from the virus remains unchanged at 29,500.
A total of 101 samples were tested during the latest reporting period of 24 hours [between 8am Monday and 8am Tuesday, resulting in a daily positivity rate of 12.87 per cent.
The overall positivity rate stands at 13.05 per cent till now, while the fatality rate based on detected cases remains at 1.44 per cent, said the DGHS press release.
Meanwhile, the number of people who have recovered from COVID-19 in the country now stands at 20,19,378.
