Lahore reports 31 more cases of Omicron variant

LAHORE: As many as 31 new Omicron cases have been detected in Lahore, the provincial capital of Punjab province, bringing the number of total cases of the new variant of COVID-19 to 243 in the city.

According to sources in the provincial health department, the number of Omicron cases detected in Punjab stands at 251 of which 243 are reported from Lahore.

“Stopping new variant from spreading in Lahore has become a challenge for the provincial authorities,” they said and added the positivity ratio in the provincial capital has reached 5.7 percent.

Pakistan has reported 1,293 COVID-19 cases over the past 24 hours, its highest tally in two months, as authorities warned of a fifth wave of infections and made preparations to try to contain the fast-spreading Omicron variant.

According to the latest figures shared by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), a total of 51,045 samples were tested during this period, out of which 1,293 turned out to be positive, showing a national positivity rate of 2.52 per cent as compared to yesterday’s 2.32%.

The death toll from the pandemic climbed to 28,961 after six more patients succumbed to the viral disease in the past 24 hours.

The number of COVID-19 patients in critical care in various hospitals across the country stands at 609.

With the emergence of the COVID-19 cases in the country, the vaccination campaign against the pandemic has also been geared up.

The National Institute of Health (NIH) on Thursday had said, as many as 160 million population of the country had been vaccinated against the COVID-19.

As many as 72,995,114 people received both of their COVID-19 doses so far, while 98,863,864 had been given one dose of the vaccine so far.