The National Health Services has warned that Pakistan might be hit with the fifth wave of COVID-19 in the middle of February 2022 with daily tally of positive cases being nearly 4,000 around that time.
National Health Services Regulations and Coordination official told media that till now, 75 people had fallen victim to the Omicron variant of Coronavirus in the country.
The official stated that the virus had been identified in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad with 33, 13, and 17 cases respectively.
The official apprised media that a majority of the Omicron cases were ‘asymptomatic’, pointing towards a silent transmission in major cities with limited testing capabilities.
He added that the entire country had seven or eight labs with the facilities to detect mutations in the COVID-19 virus that point towards the Omicron variant.
Responding to a question, the official added that vaccines for the virus along with preceding overall immunity may prevent severe transmissions of the variant.
Nearly 50 percent of the population had been vaccinated and the variant may also create a herd immunity scenario more quickly, the official said.
