Dhaka, Dec 12 : Bangladesh has detected its first cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19, Health Minister Zahid Maleque announced. The Omicron variant was detected in two female cricketers of the Bangladesh Cricket Team, the Minister said, adding that they returned to the country recently from Zimbabwe, reports Xinhua news agency. They are now in institutional isolation at a hotel in Dhaka, and their condition is currently stable, he said. The Minister said all necessary measures have been taken over the new coronavirus variant. The Bangladesh government has recently made 14 days institutional quarantine mandatory for those returning from seven African countries as part of precautionary measures to rein in the new variant. Bangladesh has so far reported 15,78,996 confirmed cases, while the death toll stood at 28,022. /IANS