ISLAMABAD: The federal capital has reported its first case of Omicron variant of coronavirus, confirmed District Health Officer (DHO) Dr Zaeen Zia late Saturday.
According to the District Health Officer, the case was detected in a 47-year-old male, adding that he was working in Islamabad and had travelled out of city for work-related purposes.
The patient had no history of travelling abroad, he added. DHO Islamabad Dr Zaeem Zia said that the authorities have also acquired the DNA samples of the family and relatives of the affected person.
Zia said the variant was confirmed as Omicron following its gene-sequencing, adding that 10 contacts of the patient were traced and subsequently isolated/quarantined.
The medical expert further noted that the Omicron is a fast-spreading variant, terming vaccination a must for remaining safe from it.
“Our teams are ready to tackle the variant,” Zia said and advised people to get vaccinated and adhere to the standard operating procedures (SOPs), such as face-masks. “Anyone who is eligible to get a booster shot of the vaccine should also do so,” he added.
Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Hamza Shafqaat also confirmed the development, adding that the patient had a travel history from Karachi.
First case of #OmicronVariant detected in Islamabad. The patient has travel history from Karachi. We are tracing all his contacts now. Everyone plz get vaccinated and follow SOPs
— Office of Deputy Commissioner Islamabad (@dcislamabad) December 25, 2021
On December 9, Pakistan detected its first ‘suspected’ case of the Omicron variant in Karachi. Sindh Health Minister Azra Fazal Pechuho had said the authorities suspected the case to be of Omicron variant due to the virus’ ‘behaviour’.
“The genome sequencing has not been done as of now but we suspect it to be the Omicron variant due to the manner in which the virus is behaving,” she was quoted as saying.
She added that the suspected Omicron-affected patient was a 57-year-old woman from the provincial capital. “The Omicron variant spreads quickly but recent reports from South Africa suggest that the variant does not cause serious illness or a high number of deaths,” Pechuho had said.
On Tuesday, 12 suspected cases of coronavirus’ Omicron variant were reported in Balochistan. Their samples were sent to the National Institute of Health in Islamabad for confirmation of the variant’s presence after gene-sequencing.
