Omicron case: Local admin in Karachi clarifies over imposing lockdown

KARACHI: No lockdown is being planned in Karachi in the wake of the detection of the first case of Omicron, the latest variant of deadly COVID-19, in an aged woman in district East of the city, ARY NEWS reported.

This was confirmed by Deputy Commissioner East Asif Khan who said that they have not yet decided to impose a lockdown in the vicinity of the building where the first Omicron case has been detected.

“Another COVID-19 case has been reported from the building where the woman lived and the sample has been sent to Islamabad for genome-sequencing,” he said adding that so far there is no need to worry for them.

He said that they had taken samples from 1,000 people who had come in contact with the lady and all of them have tested negative for COVID-19. “We are therefore not mulling over to impose a smart lockdown,” the deputy commissioner said.

The National Institute of Health (NIH) earlier in the day confirmed Pakistan’s first case of Covid-19 Omicron variant in a Karachi resident.

Sources told ARY News that the NIH received samples of three suspected cases of Omicron variant from Karachi for genome sequencing, a study that confirms the exact variant of the virus.

The NIH has been able to confirm (via whole genome sequencing) that a recently suspected sample from Karachi is indeed the ‘Omicron variant’ of SARS-CoV2. This is the first confirmed case but continued surveillance of suspected samples is in place to identify the trends.

— NIH Pakistan (@NIH_Pakistan) December 13, 2021

Results of the samples were received on the completion of the genomic study, they said, disclosing that the sample of a 65-year-old woman was found to be carrying the new strain of coronavirus.

She had not gotten herself inoculated against the viral disease, the sources said. The affected patient has been isolating at home since December 8.