Islamabad’s first Omicron case confirmed

Variant verified as new Covid strain following gene-sequencing

RAWALPINDI:

The first case of Omicron, the new Covid-19 strain, was detected in a 47-year-old male in Islamabad, according to the National Institute of Health on Saturday.

According to the NIH, the patient has no international travel history, nonetheless, he recently travelled to Karachi.

The patient reportedly is in good health and has only minor symptoms, the NIH stated, adding that contact tracing is currently being done to detect more cases.

According to District Health Officer Dr Zaeem Zia, the variant was confirmed as Omicron following its gene-sequencing.

Zia said samples have been taken from all the close relatives and family members of the patient while samples of classmates of his children will also be taken from schools on Monday.

"Omicron is a fast-spreading variant, and vaccination is essential to avoid it," he said. “Our teams are ready to deal with the new Covid variant.”

The DHO urged the citizens to follow Covid-19 standard operating procedures, get vaccinated and get booster shots if eligible.

The United States has gifted another 5 million doses of Covid-19 vaccine to Pakistan on the special occasion of Christmas under the COVAX facility.

The donation is expected to reach Pakistan on or shortly after Christmas. After the arrival of this consignment, the total number of vaccines donated by the US government to the people of Pakistan would reach 37 million.

On the occasion, Angela Eagler, Charge d'Affaires of the US Embassy in Islamabad, said that the best gift for loved ones on the occasion of the festival is to vaccinate them. “The people should celebrate the New Year by getting themselves vaccinated against coronavirus.”

Read Country detects first 'suspected' case of Omicron in Karachi

It should be noted that these vaccines manufactured by Pfizer are part of the 50 million vaccine doses purchased by the US this summer for distribution in countries around the world, including Pakistan, as part of President Biden's commitment.

Last month, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) had warned that the new variant of coronavirus was wreaking havoc worldwide, particularly in Europe, and eventually would also affect Pakistan.

At a news conference, NCOC chief Asad Umar said that the country had a few weeks to counter the threat posed by Omicron, which was first detected in the southern African region.

“Omicron is wreaking havoc across the world [and it] will also eventually affect Pakistan as well, but the country has a few weeks to counter the threat,” Umar had said. “The variant has spread across the world and it will be impossible to stop it from entering Pakistan because the world is so inter-connected.”

Umar urged the people to complete their vaccination doses in the wake of the “very dangerous” variant. “The logical solution to thwart the new variant is full vaccination,” the minister told the news conference.

Citing the example of South Africa, where the positivity rate rose from 0.9% to 9.77% in mere 12 days, the NCOC chief repeated his call for vaccinating people aged 12 and above, and warned that after “the emergence of Omicron, there won’t be much time to tackle” the pandemic.