KARACHI: The Sindh Health Department has decided to conduct tests of all passengers who have returned from South Africa during the last seven days to counter the Omicron threat, it emerged Thursday.
The health department has requested the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to share data of passengers.
According to details, all those who came in contact with them will also be tested and genome sequencing will be done to ascertain whether they are infected with the new COVID-19 variant or not.
Health authorities have warned that it is impossible to prevent Omicron from coming to Pakistan. However, through preventive measures, the variant's arrival and spread can be delayed.
To counter the Omicron threat, the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) has adopted a “zero tolerance” policy and launched a massive vaccination programme.
Under the plan, booster shots will be given to immunocompromised people, healthcare workers and those aged over 50 years.
The NCOC has also agreed to take strict measures regarding the obligatory vaccination regime. It was decided that the vaccination teams should be deployed at various public spots to vaccinate the individuals on the spot.
NCOC guidelines for booster shots:
Impact appeared more pronounced in individuals already considered overweight
Percentage of people worldwide who have had an eating disorder rose from 3.5% in 2000 to 7.8% in 2018
Trump administration officials frame shift as bringing US into closer alignment with European countries
"Anti-polio drive is a national obligation, and any attack on it is intolerable," says govt spokesperson
China's CS-101 gene-editing drug successfully ends transfusion need for four-year-old Aiza
“Children’s health is of foremost importance for the Punjab govt," says Maryam Nawaz