With 13 new cases recorded yesterday, the Covid-19 infection rate has shot up to 5.83 percent from last month's 0.66.

On Friday, the infection rate was 5.12 percent, showing an upward tickin the daily positivity rate.

Health officials are yet to determine whether the new subvariant JN.1 is causing the rise in the infection rate, but they havesuggested maintaining hygiene.

The World Health Organization has already named JN.1 as a "variant of interest" or "variant to watch for", as it is spreading fast.

So far, five cases of the variant have been detected in Bangladesh.

Amid the surge of the JN.1 variant globally, the National Technical Advisory Committee (NTAC) on Covid-19 on January 2 suggested the authorities concerned take necessary measures, including issuing instructions on mask-wearing, to prevent the spread of the virus.

The Directorate General of Health Services reported 13 new Covid-19 cases and no deaths in the last 24 hours till 8:00am yesterday.

On Friday, 22 new cases were recorded.

The total number of confirmed cases rose to 20,46,724, and the number of deaths to 29,479, taking the overall fatality rate to 1.44 percent.

Meanwhile, 10 patients recovered during this period. The total number of recoveries now stands at 20,14,153, taking the overall recovery rate to 98.41 percent.

As Covid-19 infection rate has been on a sudden rise in the country over the past few days, the government has already decided to administer Covid-19 vaccination again.

Prof Tahmina Shirin, director of the Institute of Epidemiology, Research and Disease Control (IEDCR), said it is not yet certain whether the new subvariant is related to the recent increase in the infection rate.

It will be possible to tell whether JN.1 is responsible if more people are tested, she added.

"The number of daily tests is currently low... We are cautious about the variant and have taken necessary measures in this regard."

ABM Abdullah, emeritus professor at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, said those who have already been vaccinated will be protected from this new strain, but advised maintaining hygiene rules.

"The symptoms seen in the bodies of those affected by the JN.1 variant are relatively similar to those of the common cold," he said.