LAHORE: As many as 62 more people have tested positive for the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in Lahore, the provincial health department said on Monday.
The number of confirmed cases of Omicron in Punjab has climbed to 117, including 112 in the provincial capital alone. Six members of a family are among the people infected with the new strain.
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The health department said the Omicron variant is spreading fast with an infection rate higher than that of the Delta variant of the coronavirus.
Covid-19 cases are on the rise across the country that reported 708 fresh infections in the previous 24 hours with the positivity rate of 1.55 per cent.
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On Sunday, Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar, who also heads the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), said, there is clear evidence of the beginning of another Covid wave which has been expected for the last few weeks.
“Genome sequencing showing the rising proportion of omicron cases particularly in Karachi,” he tweeted, advising citizens to adhere to SOPs, including wearing mask, to keep the virus at bay.