KARACHI: At least 21 more people tested positive for Omicron variant of coronavirus between January 6 and January 7, taking the provincial tally of highly-contagious variant to 328, said Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah on Saturday.
In a statement issued on Saturday, the Sindh chief minister asserted that out of 24 samples taken, at least 21 individuals tested positive for Omicron.
“Out of the cases, 14 cases belonged to district East, three to central, one to Malir and three to other parts of the province,” the chief minister said. He stated that 21 cases out of 24 testing positive meant the prevalence rate of the variant was 87.5%.
CM Murad appealed to people to be careful in any case and must wear masks in markets, offices and public places and use hand sanitisers as well. “This pandemic can be prevented only by exercising caution,” said CM Murad.
Pakistan reported 1,345 new cases of Covid-19 in the last 24 hours taking the nation’s positivity rate to 2.89 per cent. According to the National Command and Operation Centre, one patient died of the virus during the last 24 hours.
On Thursday, Sindh Minister for Health Dr Azra Pechuho said that lockdown can be imposed after assessing surge in cases of Omicron infection, which is showing a steady rise.
She feared the pace at which the Omicron cases were rising showed they would further increase in next couple of months. Lockdown was not being imposed immediately, it could be enforced after assessing the situation in hospitals and cities, she had said and called for implementing standard operating procedures (SOPs).
The minister said that vaccination ratio among students of private schools was 80 to 90pc but similar figures about public sector schools were not encouraging. Parents were advised to get their children above 12 years of age vaccinated, she said.
She said that working in taluka and district level hospitals was being improved after connecting them with tertiary care hospitals. Hepatitis might also spread if preventive measures were not taken, she cautioned.
