The patient tested positive in a rapid antigen test carried out at the Karachi Airport. He was quarantined at the airport hotel, from where he escaped after his Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test for Coronavirus infection came out positive.
His samples were sent for genome study. The genome sequencing report suggesting that the infection appeared to be that of the Omicron variant was sent to the National Institute of Health, so that it could be confirmed.
When the genome sequencing report turned out to be positive three days later, on the 13th of December, a search was launched to find the patient. He was apprehended two days later and is now under observation at the Qatar Hospital in Karachi.
Pakistan’s first suspected case of the Omicron variant was detected in Karachi on the 8th of December. The virus was detected in a 57-year-old unvaccinated woman.
Speaking about the nature of the Omicron variant, Sindh Health Minister Dr. Azra Fazal Pechuho said that although the new variant was highly infectious, reports from South Africa did not seem to suggest that the mortality rate was unusually high. Further, the minister requested unvaccinated people to get their shots, while urging those who are already vaccinated for six months to receive their booster shot.