ISLAMABAD: After its detection in Karachi almost a fortnight ago, Omicron surfaced in Islamabad on Saturday after a person was found infected by Covid-19’s most virulent strain.

Pakistan reported its first suspected case of Omicron on Dec 8, which was later confirmed by the National Institute of Health (NIH) on Dec 13.

The patient is a 47-year-old man who had arrived from Karachi in the current week. As many as 10 of his contacts have been quarantined and their samples collected for polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test.

Besides, contact tracing has also been planned in the two educational institutions of the federal capital where the man’s children are studying.

A tweet from Deputy Commissioner (DC) Islamabad Hamza Shafqaat’s office on Saturday confirmed the arrival of the virus in the federal capital.

“First case of #OmicronVariant detected in Islamabad. The patient has travel history from Karachi. We are tracing all his contacts now. Everyone plz get vaccinated and follow SOPs,” the DC Office tweeted.

On the other hand, District Health Officer (DHO) Islamabad Dr Zaeem Zia, in his tweet, advised the city’s residents to get immunised and also go for the booster dose to minimise chances of infection. However, he did not mention that an Omicron patient had been reported in the capital.

“Amidst the looming threats of #Omicron variant, Our Health teams are prepared to respond as they did in previous waves/variants diligently. We urge everyone to follow SoP’s and get vaccinated if you arent, or get the booster if you are eligible ASAP. @nhsrcofficial #Omicron,” Dr Zia tweeted.

Later, talking to Dawn, Dr Zia confirmed that Omicron had been detected in a resident who did not have a travel history to any other country.

“We are ready to deal with the virus just like we did in the past. I just want to suggest people to get inoculated and strictly adhere to the standard operating procedures. Those who are eligible for a booster dose should get it at the earliest,” he said.

Meanwhile, an official of the Ministry of National Health Services, requesting not to be named, said the 47 year-old man had developed symptoms following which his samples were collected four days ago and sent to the NIH for PCR test.

“The NIH team found the PCR test’s strain a bit different, therefore, decided to send the sample for genome sequencing. After three days it was confirmed that the patient was Omicron positive,” the official said, adding that since the patient had minor symptoms and had not developed any complication, he (patient) was quarantined at his residence.

He further added that the patient had interacted with 10 contacts after arriving from Karachi, and all of them had been isolated, quarantined and their samples collected for PCR tests.

The official said as per the standard operating procedures, relevant authorities of Sindh were informed about it with an advice to conduct contact tracing to prevent the virus from spreading.

“However, it is a matter of concern for us that his children are studying in two educational institutions in Islamabad; it has therefore been decided that contact tracing in institutions be carried out on Monday (tomorrow),” he added.

When asked whether contact tracing will be done even if the patient’s children were found negative, the official said the incubation period of the virus was one week therefore chances of false negative result could not be ignored.

It is worth mentioning here that during the current week, 12 suspected cases of the Omicron strain were reported in Balochistan. Their samples were sent to the NIH for confirmation through genome sequencing.

Last month, Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar and Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan had said that the arrival of the Omicron variant was inevitable.

The strain was initially reported in South Africa and has now reached around 100 countries.

On the other hand, the National Command and Operation Centre reported seven deaths and 353 new patients in the last 24 hours. The national positivity rate was calculated at 0.73pc and 624 patients were on critical care on Saturday.

A total of 148,265,690 doses of vaccine have been administered across the country.

Published in Dawn, December 26th, 2021