Dhaka, Jan 24 (IANS): The Omicron variant of Covid-19 is driving a huge spike in fresh infections in Bangladesh, a senior official has said.

Nazmul Islam, a Spokesman for the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), on Sunday told the media , "A huge spike in infections is being driven by the Omicron variant of Covid-19, which is gradually replacing Delta in the country."

In a health bulletin on Sunday afternoon about the symptoms of the Omicron variant, he said that 73 per cent of people here detected with the Omicron variant have runny nose, 68 per cent have headache, 64 per cent have fatigue and 60 per cent have sneezing.

He added that 60 per cent of the patients have sore throat and 44 per cent have cough, Xinhua news agency reported.

"If we don't follow well hygiene rules, the upward trend in fresh Omicron cases won't stop," he said.

Bangladesh's new Covid-19 cases soared by 10,906 in the past 24 hours by 8 a.m. local time Sunday, taking the total cases to 1,685,136, according to the latest government data.