The year 2022 had pretty much marked the end of the Covid-19 pandemic. But the temporary respite offered by the year disappeared in December 2022. The rising Covid-19 cases across the world, a majority of them reported in the last week of December alone, have once again raised alarm bells. Though the figures are less than the 2020 and 2021 peaks, the situation is not rosy either. New Omicron variants are emerging across the world. The situation in Pakistan is fairly under control; the country’s current positivity rate is below one per cent. Worldwide, just in the month of December last year over 14 million cases and over 46,000 new fatalities were reported showing an increase of 25 and 21 per cent respectively. Japan and South Korea appear to be the worst-affected by the new wave with nearly a million new cases in the past 10 days in Japan and nearly half a million new cases in Korea. America, China, and Brazil are next in line. The current trends in Covid-19 cases are perhaps underestimates of the true number of infections and reinfection as the rate of testing is quite low. In terms of variants, still the Omicron variant of concern (VoC) accounts for more than 98 per cent of sequences reported globally in the past 30 days; BA.5.2 and BF.7 – the Omicron sub-variants – are responsible for the latest outbreak.
According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), the sub-variant reported in some areas is XBB, an old variant of Omicron, and not the BF.7 variant which is spreading in China. But the presence of new sub-variants in Pakistan’s two neighbouring countries – India and China – remains a cause of concern for health authorities. The new variant is more infectious and transmissible, with a shorter incubation period resulting in upper-respiratory infection and congestion. There is a need for a renewed campaign for vaccination across the country as inoculation remains the best defence against any future virus wave. Mask-wearing should be reintroduced, and people should be encouraged to get booster shots. There must also be strict vigilance on those who are coming into the country from abroad, with mandatory testing. Making sure we keep mass infection away is necessary, especially since the country has till now managed to keep itself relatively safe from this devastating pandemic. We must continue our prevention and vigilance strategies.