NIH confirms presence of new sub-variant of coronavirus

ISLAMABAD: The National Institute of Health (NIH) has confirmed presence of the Covid-19’s new sub-variant in the country, ARY News reported on Wednesday.

A sub-variant of Omicron variant of the coronavirus, XBB, has been present in the country for last three months, NIH said in a statement.

The National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) monitoring the coronavirus situation in the country, NIH stated.

Member Sindh Corona Taskforce Dr Faisal Mahmood yesterday urged masses to wear facemasks and avoid public gatherings after detection of new variant of Covid-19 in Karachi.

While confirming the detection of cases of new Covid variant in Karachi, Dr Faisal Mahmood said that the number of Covid patients infected with the new variant coming to hospitals is low.

He advised people to get themselves checked by doctors in case of illness. The people who are ill, have been advised to use facemasks and asked to avoid visiting public places.

The Sindh Health Department had earlier confirmed presence of XBB and XBB-1 sub-variants of the Omicron variant in Karachi.

Karachi has detected six cases of the new Covid-19 variant, the health department said in a statement. It confirmed that Pakistan has been still safe from the highly infectious corona sub-variant variant BF-7.