'As Omicron cases surge, better for Bangladeshis to hold off inessential travel to India'

Vikram K Doraiswami, the Indian High Commissioner to Dhaka, has discouraged Bangladeshis from travelling to the neighbouring country unless if it is absolutely essential.

"The number of cases of infection with the Omicron variant of coronavirus is on the rise in India -- that's why it is better for the citizens of Bangladesh not to travel to India except for emergency," he said yesterday.

India's Omicron tally rose to 3,623 on Sunday, according to data released by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

But the neighbouring country is going through a third wave of Covid-19 cases, believed to be driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant, prompting many Indian states to impose some form of movement restrictions.

For now, the Indian High Commission in Bangladesh will continue to issue visas and the borders will stay open, Doraiswami said, adding that all international arrivals from January 11 will have to go on seven days' quarantine.

Doraiswami's comments came at a programme arranged for administering a booster dose of the Covid-19 vaccine for diplomats stationed in Dhaka.

The government would discourage travel through the Bangladesh-India borders to keep the Covid-19 cases at check, said Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen, who inaugurated the programme at the capital's Sheikh Russel Gastroliver Institute & Hospital. 

"There should be more health safety measures [at the borders]. Hopefully, we will be able to protect our people."

The government is not considering lockdown at this moment for the sake of livelihood and the recovering economy.

"The good news is that the fatality rate due to Omicron is very low," Momen said, adding that it would limit the number of passengers in all modes of transport as it did in the past.

Bangladesh has enough vaccines in hand at present and another 31 crore doses are in the pipeline.

So far, about 5.42 crore people have received both the doses of the vaccine, which is 39 percent of the target group and 31 percent of the total population, according to the Directorate General of Health Services data made available on January 6.

The government has a plan to bring 80 percent of the population, which includes those aged 12 and above, under the Covid-19 vaccination programme, he added.