Sindh Health Minister Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho has confirmed that the first ‘suspected’ case of a new Covid variant, Omicron, was detected in Karachi on Wednesday.
The Minister said in her statement that although a genomic study has not yet confirmed that the detected case is indeed of omicron, however, the way the virus is behaving seems to suggest that it is a case of the new variant. The minister added that the virus was detected in a 57-year-old woman who was unvaccinated.
While talking about the nature of the omicron variant, Dr. Pechuho said that although the new variant was highly infectious, yet reports coming out of South Africa don’t seem to suggest that its mortality rate is unusually high. Further, the minister requested unvaccinated people to get the shot, while asking others to get their booster shot if six months had passed since they were fully vaccinated.
The Agha Khan University Hospital also confirmed that it had received the "first patient suspected of [having] the Covid-19 Omicron variant".
"We are awaiting the results of the final (genome sequencing) confirmatory test, which will take a few days. We have reported the suspected patient to the health department for their action”, the hospital said in a statement.
The district administration has also been apprised of the situation. The district health officer of Karachi's East district has written a letter to the provincial director-general of health, saying that Regional Disease Surveillance and Response Unit, "reported the first case of the new Covid-19 'Omicron' variant on December 8, 2021, at 7 pm".
The deputy commissioner has also been asked to take precautionary measures to limit the spread of the variant.
The Minister said in her statement that although a genomic study has not yet confirmed that the detected case is indeed of omicron, however, the way the virus is behaving seems to suggest that it is a case of the new variant. The minister added that the virus was detected in a 57-year-old woman who was unvaccinated.
While talking about the nature of the omicron variant, Dr. Pechuho said that although the new variant was highly infectious, yet reports coming out of South Africa don’t seem to suggest that its mortality rate is unusually high. Further, the minister requested unvaccinated people to get the shot, while asking others to get their booster shot if six months had passed since they were fully vaccinated.
The Agha Khan University Hospital also confirmed that it had received the "first patient suspected of [having] the Covid-19 Omicron variant".
"We are awaiting the results of the final (genome sequencing) confirmatory test, which will take a few days. We have reported the suspected patient to the health department for their action”, the hospital said in a statement.
The district administration has also been apprised of the situation. The district health officer of Karachi's East district has written a letter to the provincial director-general of health, saying that Regional Disease Surveillance and Response Unit, "reported the first case of the new Covid-19 'Omicron' variant on December 8, 2021, at 7 pm".
The deputy commissioner has also been asked to take precautionary measures to limit the spread of the variant.