Pakistan reported more than 700 COVID-19 cases in a single day on Monday, the highest record in two months, as the authorities warned that there would be a fifth wave of infections and are preparing to try to contain the rapidly spreading variant of Omicron.

According to data from the National Command Operations Center (NCOC), which oversees the pandemic response, at least 708 cases in the past 24 hours pushed the positive rate to 1.55%, the highest level since October 24.

Asad Umar, the minister responsible for overseeing anti-COVID-19 operations, said on Twitter: “There is now clear evidence that another wave of COVID-19 is expected in the past few weeks.”

He said that genome sequencing has detected more and more cases of Omicron variants, especially in Karachi, the largest city.

Approximately 70 million people in Pakistan (32% of the total population) received two doses of the vaccine.

The government authorized a booster dose for citizens over 30 years of age from Monday. Children over 12 years old are being vaccinated in school. According to data from the National Institutes of Health, the first Omicron variant case was reported in Karachi on December 13, and as of December 27, there were a total of 75 confirmed cases (NIH).

It stated that 12 of these cases were related to international travel.

The Sindh provincial government, where Karachi is its capital, is developing a strategy to control this variant, which includes a partial lockdown of a community in Karachi after approximately 12 Omicron cases were detected in a family last week. (Reporting by Said Raza Hassan, Editing by Robert Bossel)

Complete News Source : Hindustan Times