ISLAMABAD - The federal capital has reported the first case of Omicron variant as the health officials of the capital city have confirmed that they have received one patient contracted by the variant.
District Health Officer, Dr Zaeem Zia on Saturday, said the patient has no international travel history; nonetheless, the patient recently travelled to Karachi. Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Muhammad Hamza Shafqaat also confirmed that first case of Omicron variant has been detected in Islamabad. “First case of Omicron variant detected in Islamabad. The patient has a travel history from Karachi. We are tracing all his contacts now,” said the deputy commissioner in a tweet. He also appealed the citizens to get vaccinated and follow the SOPs
According to the health officials, the patient reportedly is in good health and has only minor symptoms.
The DHO urged the citizens to exercise caution and get vaccinated. According to Dr Zia, citizens who are eligible for the booster shot should get one.
It is pertinent to note that six more Omicron cases were reported in Karachi on Friday, taking the total number of infections in the city to eight. According to the reports, the suspected patients have a travel history. Four of them came from South Africa, where the Omicron variation was first detected, while two others came from the United Kingdom.
Meanwhile, Pakistan has reported 353 new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours,
up from 322 a day earlier, and seven more fatalities compared to Friday’s four. According to the NCOC, Sindh reported 211 cases and 3 deaths during the past 24 hours, Punjab 58 cases, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 46 cases and 2 deaths, Balochistan 4 cases, Islamabad 33 cases and 2 deaths, Azad Jammu and Kashmir 1 case and Gilgit-Baltistan did not confirm any new cases for the fifth straight day.
Furthermore, another 112 people have recovered from the coronavirus in Pakistan, taking the country’s total to 1,254,413. According to the database for tracking the spread of the disease in the country, there are 9,763 active cases, of which 624 are in critical condition.
