Omicron in Karachi: Six more suspected cases of new COVID-19 variant detected

KARACHI: Six more suspected cases of Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus were reported in Karachi, Sindh Health Department sources said Thursday

The suspected patients of the Omicron variant have a travel history, the sources privy to the matter said, adding that four of them arrived in Karachi from South Africa, where the new Omicron variant was first identified, and two others from Britain.

The samples taken from the suspected patients have been sent to a private hospital for further confirmation and the patients have been shifted to a quarantine centre in the metropolis, said the sources.

Pakistan has so far reported one confirmed and 39 suspected cases of Omicron variant.

The Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), on December 13, had confirmed it had detected Pakistan's first-ever case of the Omicron variant of coronavirus in a patient — who had no travel history — through gene-sequencing.

A second case of the Omicron variant of coronavirus had been reported from Karachi, sources within the Sindh Health Department had said later in the week.

Moreover, 32 suspected cases were reported in Balochistan's Kalat district during a vaccination and diagnostic process, a provincial health department official had confirmed to Geo News Wednesday.