The number of patients at the intensive care units in hospitals, getting treatment for Covid-19, has been on the rise. Experts said the recent rise in new cases could be linked to a new variant of the coronavirus and people flouting the health rules. The percentage of occupied ICU beds jumped to 42.76 yesterday from 28.18 on February 13, according to surveillance data from the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS). There are 566 ICU beds for Covid-19 patients in hospitals across the country. Of these, 281 are in 10 government and nine private hospitals in the capital. On July 2 last year, the day when the highest, 4,019, number of people tested positive for the virus, 53.57 percent of the ICU beds were occupied.