Only the vaccinated to attend in-person classes after 15 January

Only the vaccinated students will be able to attend in-person classes at schools and colleges from 15 January, as per a government decision.

The Directorate of Secondary and Higher Education (DSHE) on Sunday issued a directive asking the authorities concerned to ensure vaccination of all students aged 12-17 years by that time.

The DSHE directive, however, did not mention anything about the in-person classes of students aged below 12 years.

In this regard, DSHE Director General Professor Syed Golam Faruk told The Business Standard that the decision will be finalised on Monday.

The vaccination campaign for students aged 12-17 years started on 1 November 2021 which is scheduled to end on 15 January.

Those who will not get vaccinated by this time, will not be able to attend in-person classes, said the directive.

According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), until Saturday, 7,42,296 students aged 12-17 years have received two doses of coronavirus vaccine while 49,47,981 students have received the first dose only.

The number of students aged 12-17 years is approximately 1,00,20,000 in the country.

Education Minister Dipu Moni on Saturday said that the government does not want to shut down the educational institutions right now as it will result in more learning losses.

80% of new Covid cases from Dhaka

Coronavirus infection is increasing rapidly in Dhaka, compared to the rest of the country.

Meanwhile, Bangladesh reported three more deaths and 1,491 new Covid cases in the last 24 hours as the positivity rate kept surging.

Out of 1,491 people infected, 1,196 were from Dhaka, which is 80.21% of the total new cases. Apart from this, 8.78% were from Chattogram while the rest from other divisions.

In the last week, the infection rate has increased by 115% as compared to the previous week, according to the DGHS. Experts fear that if the infection is not contained immediately, it will spread outside Dhaka soon.

Dr Abu Jamil Faisal, a public health expert and member of the National Public Health Advisory Committee on Covid-19 Management, apprehended that the situation would worsen further in the next few days considering the rapidly increasing positivity rate. He told The Business Standard that the contamination in the border areas will increase further due to the travelling through the land ports to and from India. Now, the health ministry, the people's representatives, and the religious leaders, all have to work together.

"Taking tough stance to contain the infection is only tall talks; no visible steps have been taken. Infections are on the rise due to various reasons including elections, fairs and marriage ceremonies. If the UP elections, fair or marriage ceremony is postponed for one month, there will be no harm. If the rate of infections goes out of control, lockdown has to be imposed again. Lockdown does not play any important role in containing infections; it increases the suffering of the poor people only. There are no visible attempts to enforce health guidelines or to stop the events where people crowd," he told The Business Standard.

Daily positivity rate close to 7%

Three more people died of Covid-19 and 1,491 tested positive in a span of 24 hours. 

Health officials recorded the current positivity rate at 6.78% testing 21,980 samples during the past 24 hours till 8am Sunday, the highest in the last 118 days. Earlier, 7.69% positivity rate was reported on 13 September. 

With the latest figures, the death toll reached 28,102 and the case tally climbed to 15,93,700 in the country.

Covid cases see 115% rise last week: DGHS

The number of Covid-19 infections in the country has increased by 115% in the last one week compared to the previous week, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

"Last week, a total of 6,300 people were infected with Covid-19, which was 2,924 in the previous week," DGHS Director Professor Nazmul Islam told the media during the regular DGHS briefing on Sunday.

No lockdown plan so far: Foreign minister

The government is not considering to impose lockdown amid the current Omicron situation in the country, as the death rate due to Omicron infection is low, said Foreign Minister Abdul Momen.

He said that Bangladesh and India will discuss the issue of border communication considering the deteriorating Omicron situation.

He said this on Sunday afternoon while inaugurating a campaign of providing booster doses of the coronavirus vaccine to diplomats on duty at various foreign missions in Dhaka. The programme was organised at Sheikh Russell Gastroliver Institute Hospital at Mohakhali in the capital.

In Chattogram, 100 infected in a day

In Chattogram, after a gap of three and a half months, more than 100 patients were infected with coronavirus in the last 24 hours.

During the time, one Covid patient died in the port city, said the district civil surgeon's office on Sunday.

According to the civil surgeon's office, samples of 1,165 people were tested in the last 24 hours. Among them, 104 people tested positive. The infection rate is 5.69%.