NIH rejects reports of new Covid-19 variant

ISLAMABAD: The National Institute of Health (NIH) on Tuesday denied all reports regarding the presence of new variants of Covid-19 in Pakistan, ARY News reported.

“No cases of a new variant of Covid-19 have been reported in Pakistan,” the NIH official said while adding that all “arrangements have been completed to combat the new variant” should a case emerge.

According to a National Command and Control Centre (NCOC) official, new variants have also come in the past, but they were controlled in time. “We are fully prepared to tackle and control any variant.”

Reports suggest the coronavirus strain spreading in China is a sub-variant of the highly infectious Omicron variant: BF.7 or BA.5.2.1.7.

Yesterday, while chairing a review meeting on the virus situation, NDMA Chairman Lt-Gen Inam Haider Malik had instructed the NIH to issue necessary guidelines for educational institutions, social gatherings and communities.

Pakistan has reported no death in the last 24 hours by novel coronavirus as the number of confirmed positive cases surged to 1,575,833. The nationwide tally of fatalities stood at 30,636.

According to the latest figures issued by the National Institute of Health (NIH), at least 15 people were tested positive for Covid across the country in the past 24 hours.