Sindh’s health department said that Pakistan on Wednesday reported its first case of the new coronavirus variant Omicron.
The media coordinator of the provincial health department, Mehr Khurshid, confirmed the first Omicron case in a woman from Karachi. He said the infected woman was admitted to Aga Khan University Hospital for treatment and was not vaccinated.
According to a notification from the district health office in Karachi’s East district, the 65-year-old has been discharged from the hospital and is currently in home isolation. He has no travel history.
According to the notification, the Rapid Response Team was “immediately taken on board” for tracing, testing, quarantining, vaccination and other preventive measures to control the spread of the infection as per the guidelines of the National Command and Operations Centre.
The district health team “immediately” contacted the woman’s family to take a detailed history and trace her contacts.
The notification said that two contacts of the woman, who tested positive for coronavirus but does not have the Omicron variant, have been admitted to the Aga Khan University Hospital.
According to the notification, the Deputy Commissioner of the district has also been requested to take necessary action- Micro Smart Lockdown.
The ‘inevitable’ arrival
Last month, Federal Planning Minister Asad Umar and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan were sounded the alarm, adding that the arrival of the Omicron version was inevitable and a matter of time.
“This [strain] It has to be spread all over the world as we saw earlier that when one type comes out, the world is so interconnected that it is impossible to stop,” Omar said, adding that vaccination was the most logical solution to stop this menace.
On 30 November the Sindh government issued new guidelines – Effective 1-15 December – To prevent the transmission of COVID-19 in view of the threat posed by the new version.
Control of Kovid-19 in Sindh:
- Indoor, outdoor gatherings are permitted for vaccinated individuals. In Karachi, Sukkur and Sanghar there is a limit of 500 for indoor events and 1,000 for outdoor events. For the rest of the province, it is 300 for indoor and 1,000 for outdoor.
- Indoor feeding is allowed for vaccinated people up to 70 pc for Karachi, Sukkur and Sanghar till 11:59 pm and up to 50 pc for the rest of the province.
- Outside meals are allowed until 11:59 pm for fully vaccinated citizens.
- Markets and businesses can function till 10 pm while essential services can operate 24/7.
- Temples, indoor gyms and cinemas are open to fully vaccinated individuals.
- 100% attendance at regular time in offices.
- Amusement parks and swimming pools will operate at 70 pcs in Karachi, Sukkur and Sanghar and 50 pcs for the rest of the province.
The Sindh chief secretary had also directed the district administration to demonstrate its full commitment to implement non-drug interventions and take strict action against violators.
Sindh’s health department had earlier decided to vaccinate all residents with Pfizer’s booster shot, keeping in mind the increased risk of transmission and re-infection posed by the Omicron variant.
travel ban
Pakistan on November 27 imposed a complete ban on travel from six South African countries – South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, Botswana and Namibia – and Hong Kong.
This travel ban It was later expanded to nine more countries – Croatia, Hungary, Netherlands, Ukraine, Ireland, Slovenia, Vietnam, Poland and Zimbabwe.
Additionally, the NCOC placed 13 countries in Category B, including the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Trinidad and Tobago, Azerbaijan, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Russia, Thailand, France, Austria, Afghanistan and Turkey.
All travelers to these countries are required to be fully vaccinated, while all those over the age of six must have a negative PCR test report 48 hours prior to boarding.
Omicron is classified by the World Health Organization as a “highly permeable” variant – the same category that includes the major delta variant.