"We've decided to suspend travel from South Africa with immediate effect,"  the Minister added. He said this new variant, named Omicron, is extremely aggressive, Xinhua news agency reported.

According to the Minister, the Bangladeshi government is also strengthening screening procedures at all ports. Covid-19 infections and deaths from the virus have fallen significantly in Bangladesh in recent months due to the vaccination drive.

Bangladesh began the vaccine rollout with Indian supplies in January but quickly ran into delivery problems. In June, the vaccination drive resumed largely with Chinese Sinopharm vaccines.

Bangladesh reported 155 new Covid-19 cases and 2 new deaths on Saturday, taking the tally to 15,75,579 and the death toll to 27,975, the Directorate General of Health Services said.