Islamabad [Pakistan]: Fifth COVID-19 wave with Omicron variant may hit Pakistan by mid-February adding to the country’s pandemic woes. Pakistan may experience the fifth wave of Covid-19 in the mid of February 2022 with daily detection of around 3,000-4,000 cases per day as community transmission of Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2, according to News International. Also, the transmission of the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 has started in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad there is a rise of Covid-19 cases all over the country in the coming two weeks. Earlier, Coronavirus has begun in the major cities of Pakistan, especially in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad where so far 75 people were found infected with the Variant of Concern (VoC). Meanwhile, the National Institute of Health (NIH), Islamabad, also confirmed that so far 75 cases of the Omicron variant were confirmed in Pakistan, including 33 in Karachi where the first case was reported on December 13, 2021 while 17 cases of the Omicron variant have been reported from Islamabad and 13 in Lahore. Officials at the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) Karachi and the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH) said they have detected several suspected Omicron variant cases and were now trying to get them confirmed through whole genome sequencing. “We would be able to confirm Omicron variant cases by Thursday,” an official of the DUHS said. The NHS official mentioned that Omicron variant cases were ‘asymptomatic’, which indicates that it could be spreading silently in major cities where only a few labs had the capacity to pick the suspected cases. The molecular genetics experts said no commercial lab in Karachi or anywhere in the country was detecting the Omicron variant although its kit was now available in the country, according to News International.
