Dhaka, Nov 29 (UNI) The National Technical Advisory Committee (NTAC) on Covid-19 in Bangladesh has recommended a travel ban on countries from where cases of the new variant Omicron have been reported.

The NTAC also recommended strengthening of screening at all gateways including air, land and waterways and limiting the public gatherings in view of the new variant.

People with a recent travel history to these countries should be kept under a 14-day institutional quarantine on arrival in Bangladesh, it said.

Bangladesh has issued an alert to all its ports considering the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 in some countries like South Africa.

The spokesperson of the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) said the government is taking all measures to prevent the spread of the new variant as the WHO has called it a variant of concern.

Earlier, Health Minister Zahid Maleque said the government has directed all relevant organisations to take emergency measures to prevent the highly contagious new variant Omicron.

Meanwhile, Covid-19 positivity rate in Bangladesh continued to be low at 1.03 per cent on Sunday. The country reported three deaths and 205 new cases over the last 24 hours on Sunday morning.