Pandemic woes: Health experts ring Omicron warning

Cases of the latest variant of the super spreader will only intensify given the negligence at display

KARACHI:

Throngs of people taking no safety precautions whether it be commercial areas, public transport, workplaces, or educational institutions is a common sight in the country despite the Omicron variant’s highly contagious nature.

The superspreader’s new variant which was first identified in the bustling metropolis that is Karachi, caused panic when the positivity rate touched 45% in the city and health officials rang alarm bells for the imminent danger the country’s health infrastructure was in. While the positivity rate has been on a downward trajectory in Sindh, health officials now believe that something similar to the Covid-19 upsurge seen in Karachi, as recently as last month, awaits other bigger cities in Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), and the country’s northern regions.

Professor Saeed Khan, Director of the Ojha Public Health Laboratory, while talking to the Express Tribune, stated that the fifth wave of the coronavirus was far from over. “The number of affected patients in Punjab and the northern areas is increasing rapidly and people with low immunity are the immediate victims of the Omicron variant,” he informed.

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Currently, as per the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) website, the confirmed cases in the country’s most populous province, Punjab, have ballooned to more than 495,000. A similar upward trajectory is being seen in K-P as well with confirmed cases at more than 210,000.

Khan stated that with people not following preventive measures and not taking the Omicron variant seriously these numbers would continue to rise. The negligence is aided by vaccine hesitancy which has been reported in Punjab and K-P alike coupled with low turnout for booster doses.

The fully vaccinated population, as per NCOC website, stands at about 92.5 million people while the partially vaccinated population is at 119.1 million - in contrast, only about 3.6 million booster jabs have been administered. Professor Rafiq Khanani of the Pakistan Infection Control Society said that due to the cold weather in Punjab and northern areas, the symptoms of Covid-19 can be a mixture of the flu virus and coronavirus — which is one of the reasons that health experts believe that actual Omicron infections are underreported across the country.

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“Flu symptoms generally show within 1 to 4 days after the infection, whereas a patient infected with the superspreader shows symptoms five days after the infection,” he explained. However, Khanani cautioned that Omicron was not to be taken lightly as it could lead to complications including heart attack, stroke, kidney failure, and lungs collapsing. “Having Covid-19 and flu simultaneously can lead to further complications,” Khanani informed.

Khan, concurring with Khanani’s views, further stated that not only does the new variant spread rapidly through air particles, an infected person can transmit it to people in a two to three feet radius. “At the moment, the reported Covid-19 cases are extremely unusual.

If the same negligence persists, the pressure on the hospitals will increase,” Professor Khan cautioned while talking to the Express Tribune.