More Covid-19 labs if passengers increase at airport

Health Minister Zahid Maleque has said the number of Covid-19 testing labs will be increased if the number of passengers also increase at the Dhaka airport.

The minister made the statement after inspecting the Covid-19 testing facilities of Dubai-bound passengers at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Thursday afternoon.

“Everyone is bit worried about the new variant Omicron. We are being careful too but we will not panic. It spreads very fast but the symptoms are not as severe as Delta. More information will be available after receiving the full report from WHO. Till then we have to be careful,” said the minister.

“Many people are not coming to get the vaccine. We urge everyone to get vaccinated. There is no shortage of vaccines and we still have 40 million vaccines in stock,” he added.

“We are coping well with the Covid-19 situation. The vaccination activities have gained momentum. About 50 per cent of target population has been vaccinated. The number of deaths and infections has also decreased,” said Maleque.

“The country’s economic activities are going good as well. Bangladesh has created a good image abroad and there are no sanctions on the country,” he added.