75 instances of Omicron variant confirmed to this point in Pakistan: NIH

In an announcement, the NIH mentioned that the Ministry of Nationwide Well being Providers, Regulation and Coordination (NHSRC), the Nationwide Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) and the provincial departments had been vigilantly maintaining a tally of Omicron instances in Pakistan ever because it was designated a variant of concern by the World Well being Organisation (WHO).

“The primary case of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 was reported on December 13 in Karachi,” the assertion mentioned.

“As of December 27, a complete of 75 Omicron instances have been confirmed; 33 in Karachi, 17 in Islamabad and 13 in Lahore,” the assertion mentioned, including that the remaining 12 instances had been related to worldwide journey. The NIH didn’t present any additional particulars.

“The related authorities have remoted the sufferers and initiated contract tracing to be able to management the unfold of the variant,” the NIH mentioned.

Vaccination and following commonplace working procedures (SOPs) proceed to be our greatest defence towards Covid-19 regardless of the mutations being reported, the assertion added.

“All authorities authorized Covid-19 vaccines obtainable in Pakistan stay extremely efficient at stopping extreme illness and hospitalisation. The federal government urges everybody to get each doses of the Covid-19 vaccine in addition to the booster dose as per the eligibility standards and course of,” the assertion mentioned.

Pakistan reported its first suspected case of the Omicron variant on December 8. Following its gene-sequencing, Aga Khan College Hospital confirmed it was the brand new variant on Dec 13.

On Dec 25, Islamabad had confirmed its first case. Islamabad District Well being Officer (DHO) Zaeem Zia mentioned that the case was detected in a 47-year-old male, including that he was working in Islamabad and had travelled out of metropolis for work-related functions. The affected person had no historical past of travelling overseas, he mentioned.

‘Inevitable arrival’

Final month, Federal Planning Minister Asad Umar and Particular Assistant to the Prime Minister on Well being Dr Faisal Sultan had sounded the alarm, saying that the arrival of the Omicron variant was inevitable and a matter of time.

“This [strain] has to unfold in the entire world as we noticed earlier than that when a variant comes, the world is so interconnected that it’s not possible to cease it,” Umar had mentioned, including that vaccination was probably the most logical resolution to curb the risk.

Pakistan had positioned a whole ban on November 27 on journey from six south African nations — South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, Botswana and Namibia — and Hong Kong within the wake of the variant’s discovery.

This journey ban was later prolonged to 9 extra nations — Croatia, Hungary, Netherlands, Ukraine, Eire, Slovenia, Vietnam, Poland and Zimbabwe.

Moreover, the Nationwide Command and Working Centre positioned 13 nations – United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Trinidad and Tobago, Azerbaijan, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Russia, Thailand, France, Austria, Afghanistan and Turkey – in class B.

All passengers from these nations should be absolutely vaccinated, whereas everybody above the age of six should possess a unfavourable PCR take a look at report issued no more than 48 hours earlier than boarding.

Omicron has been categorised by the World Well being Organisation as a “extremely transmissible” variant — the identical class that features the predominant Delta variant.