https://arab.news/mnx2y
- Pakistani health officials said last week they detected the country’s first suspected case of omicron in Karachi
- Much remains unknown about the omicron strain, which was first detected in southern Africa last month
ISLAMABAD: The National Institute of Health (NIH) has said results of samples of three suspected cases of the omicron variant of the coronavirus would be received by Monday, today, local media said.
Pakistani health officials said last week they had detected the country’s first suspected case of the new omicron coronavirus variant in the southern port city of Karachi.
Much remains unknown about the omicron strain, which was first detected in southern Africa last month and has been found in at least two dozen countries since. The World Health Organization (WHO) has urged countries to boost health care capacity and vaccinate people to fight a surge in COVID-19 cases driven by the new variant.
“Though we get result of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test the same day, genome sequencing which is done to confirm the exact variant of the virus, is a lengthy and complicated procedure,” an NIH official told Dawn. “We will get the result by Monday. There can be a new mutation in the virus and we may find a new variant just like omicron reported in South Africa.”
A notification issued from the office of the health officer in Karachi’s East district last week said a disease surveillance and response unit had “reported the first case of new COVID-19 ‘omicron’ on 8th December 2021 @ 07:00 pm.”
The statement said the omicron variant was suspected in an unvaccinated 65-year-old woman.
“The District Rapid Response Team East Karachi was taken on board immediately for Tracing, Testing and Quarantine activity, COVID-19 Vaccination activity and other preventive measures to control the spread of infection,” the notification said.
Sindh Health Minister Dr. Azra Pechuho confirmed that a suspected omicron case had surfaced in Karachi, the provincial capital.
“We are right now suspecting, its genome study hasn’t been carried out but the way that virus is behaving, it appears to be omicron,” Pechuho told Arab News, identifying the patient as a 57-year-old woman.
It was unclear if the woman mentioned by Pechuho was the same as reported by the district health office.
A genomic study of the virus to confirm if it was the omicron strain would take up to two weeks, Pechuho said.
She said the patient was unvaccinated and requested the public to get inoculated as well as get booster shots if six months had passed since they were first vaccinated.
“This could save you,” she added.
However, the National Institutes of Health said the sample “is not yet confirmed to be omicron via whole-genome sequencing, which is to be performed after obtaining the sample.”
“However, in the light of the global situation, the public is strongly urged to get vaccinated at the earliest,” the NIH added.
The development comes days after Pakistan banned flight arrivals from nine more countries over fears surrounding the omicron strain.
The countries that Pakistan added to its ‘Category C’ list for travel, which means a “complete ban on inbound travel,” included Croatia, Hungary, Netherlands, Ukraine, Ireland, Slovenia, Vietnam, Poland and Zimbabwe.
South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, Botswana and Namibia as well as Hong Kong were already banned late last month.