32 suspected cases of Omicron variant surface in Balochistan’s Kalat, says health officer

KALAT: At least 32 suspected cases of the Omicron variant of coronavirus were reported in Balochistan’s  Kalat district, District Health Officer (DHO) Nasrullah Lango said on Wednesday. 

Lango said that the Omicron variant cases were reported during a coronavirus vaccination and testing campaign in Kalat district.

 He said that health officials had taken over 400 samples for COVID-19 testing from December 1 to 18 in the district.   

Lango said that all the suspected Omicron variant patients are from Kalat and none of them have a travel history. The DHO said that the suspected patients include a woman who recently delivered a baby in Quetta.

He said that the patients are in a stable condition and that they have been quarantined at their homes. The DHO further said that the samples taken from the suspected patients have been sent to the National Institute of Health (NIH) Islamabad for confirmation.

Balochistan Chief Minister Abdul Quddus Bizenjo expressed concerns over the suspected presence of the Omicron variant in Kalat and sought a report from the health department.

Pakistan has so far reported one confirmed and another suspected case of Omicron, apart from the latest suspected cases from Kalat.

The Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), on December 13, had confirmed it had detected Pakistan's first-ever case of the Omicron variant of coronavirus in a patient  who had no travel history through gene-sequencing.

A second case of the Omicron variant of coronavirus had been reported from Karachi, sources within the Sindh Health Department had said later in the week.