KARACHI: Eleven members of a family have tested positive for Omicron variant of coronavirus in Karachi which has stunned the health experts and other stakeholders in the country. The tests of the patients were carried out by the DOW University of Health Sciences in Karachi and the institution reported this matter on Dec 30.
According to health officials, the patients came from Lahore and have no history of foreign travel.
The virus was detected through the next generation sequencing at the public health laboratory of DUHS on Thursday (Dec 30) and the samples were sent by the Sindh Health Department.
Health experts have linked the spike in Covid-19 cases with the Omicron variant. On Thursday more than 500 Covid infections were reported throughout the country.
The severity of the Omicron infection can not be confirmed yet, a health expert said. Pakistan confirmed the first case of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus on December 13 and the cases jumped to 79 by December 28.
According to health experts, the cases of new Omicron variant are expected to rise sharply in Pakistan in January, causing pressure on hospitals if people ignored SOPs.
Meanwhile, the NCOC officials too have forewarned the people of fifth wave of of the ongoing pandemic from middle of Feb-2022 are new infection cases are growing due to double impact of Delta and Omicron variants.
