On Thursday, Pakistan’s first case of the Omicron coronavirus was announced in Karachi.
According to the Sindh Health Department, the first incidence of the variation was recorded in a female patient at a private hospital in Karachi.
The patient had arrived in Pakistan from abroad, according to the health authorities, and they were verifying her travel history.
Health officials went on to say that they were also seeking to discover out who the patient’s contacts were.
The patient is not showing any symptoms of the virus, according to health officials, and has been returned home to isolate.
“We haven’t done a genome study yet, but based on how the virus is acting, it appears to be the Omicron variant,” Sindh Health Minister Azra Pechuho said in a video statement.
Despite the fact that the Omicron virus spreads quickly, recent cases of infection in South Africa have not resulted in severe illnesses or a large number of deaths, she said.
Dr. Pechuho estimated that the genome study would take one to two weeks, after which it would be possible to determine whether the patient had infected the Omicron strain of the coronavirus or not.
“The virus is spreading [quickly].” “I would want to appeal to you all to receive two doses of the vaccine because this lady is also unvaccinated,” the minister stated.
“Those who have been fully vaccinated and it has been six months since your last vaccination, please get a booster dose,” she advised.
Omicron was expected to arrive in Pakistan soon, according to Sindh Parliamentary Health Secretary Qasim Siraj Soomro, as flights continue.
“Several PCR tests were not positive at the worldwide level in patients who were later diagnosed with Omicron infection.” The new virus has a lot of mutations.”
