Covid-19: Pakistan reports first case of Omicron variant BA.2.12

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Monday reported the country’s first case of Omicron sub-variant BA.2.12.1, said the National Institute of Health (NIH) in a statement.

“NIH has detected the first case of Omicron sub-variant BA.2.12.1. This new sub-variant is causing increasing number of cases in different countries,” the health body said in a Tweet.

The NIH advised people to take the best preventive measure to avoid contracting the virus, which is vaccination against it.

The best preventive measure (besides mask-wearing at crowded places) is COVID-19 vaccination. We strongly recommended getting vaccinated and all those due for boosters must get the shots immediately.

— NIH Pakistan (@NIH_Pakistan) May 9, 2022

“We strongly recommended getting vaccinated and all those due for boosters must get the shots immediately,” it added.

Meanwhile, Covid-19 cases continue to decline in Pakistan as the country reported 64 new infections in past 24 hours, pushing the overall tally of infections to 1,528,800.

Also Read: COVID-19 pandemic is ‘far from over’: WHO official

A total of 30,375 people died from COVID-19 in Pakistan, with no more deaths recorded on Sunday, according to the ministry’s statistics.

COVID-19 Statistics 9 May 2022
Total Tests in Last 24 Hours: 13,190
Positive Cases: 64
Positivity %: 0.49%
Deaths: 00
Patients on Critical Care: 92

— NIH Pakistan (@NIH_Pakistan) May 9, 2022

On Sunday, 13,190 tests for COVID-19 were conducted in Pakistan while the positivity rate stood at 0.49 per cent.

In March, the government announced the withdrawal of all Covid-19 related restrictions in Pakistan.

Former minister Asad Umar, who led NCOC, made the announcement, a key step for the country to move to normalization.