QUETTA: Health authorities in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province said on Wednesday 12 suspected cases of omicron coronavirus had been reported in Kalat, adding that the samples had been dispatched to the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad to ensure their right diagnosis.
The omicron variant was first detected in South Africa and is said to be highly transmissible, causing severe infection among young people. Media reports indicate that the new form of virus has spread across 89 countries.
Pakistan reported its first omicron case in Karachi on December 13.
The provincial health department in Balochistan said the suspected patients from Kalat had a travel history to Hub which located right next to Karachi.
“We received 32 samples from Kalat for testing on December 15,” Dr. Naqib Niazi, head of COVID-19 operations in Balochistan, told Arab News. “Twelve patients, including a woman, exhibited signs of omicron. So, we sent their samples to the National Institute of Health in Islamabad for gene sequencing to confirm the presence of the variant among the suspected individuals.”
Niazi said the province did not have an advanced lab where new variants of the virus could be detected with certainty.
According to the World Health Organization, there is consistent evidence that omicron has a substantial growth advantage over delta and other coronavirus variants. The world health body has urged its member states to gear up their vaccination campaigns to prevent the spread of the new virus strain.
“Out teams visited the patients in the morning and found them in a stable condition,” Dr. Muhammad Noorzai, deputy district health officer in Kalat, told Arab News. “None of them had any signs of cough or illness, though the suspected patients have gone into self-quarantine. We have requested them to avoid meeting other people until we get the reports from NIH.”
According to the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), the country’s top pandemic response body, Pakistan has reported 1,292,047 coronavirus cases with 28,892 related deaths since the emergence of COVID-19.
While Balochistan has reported 33,606 coronavirus cases, it has the lowest vaccination rate compared to other provinces.
“We recently launched a 10-day vaccination campaign in all 35 districts of the province to immunize as many people as possible.” Dr. Niazi said. “Kalat has the highest number of vaccinated people since 60 percent of its population has been immunized until now.”
Sardar Abdul Rehman Kethran, Balochistan administration’s spokesperson, told Arab News the government had been utilizing all available resources to improve the pace of its vaccination program in the entire province.
“We are trying to access people in every corner of Balochistan to carry forward the immunization campaign while utilizing all available resources,” he added.
Pakistan’s Balochistan province identifies 12 suspected omicron cases
https://arab.news/ze4nn
Pakistan’s Balochistan province identifies 12 suspected omicron cases
- Officials say samples of all suspected patients have been sent for gene sequencing to the National Institute of Health in Islamabad
- Pakistan reported its first omicron case on December 13 in the country’s most densely populated Karachi city
Tens of thousands of Afghans displaced by Pakistan conflict
- UN says violence displaced approximately 20,000 families across multiple provinces
- Pakistan accuses Afghanistan of supporting militant groups, a charge the Taliban denies
KABUL: Tens of thousands of Afghans have been forced from their homes by fighting with Pakistani forces along the border in recent days, the United Nations said Tuesday.
The neighbors have clashed along the frontier since Thursday, when Afghanistan launched a border offensive in retaliation for Pakistani air strikes.
Islamabad has hit back along the border and with fresh air strikes, bombing multiple sites including the former US air base at Bagram, the capital Kabul and the southern city of Kandahar.
The violence has triggered “displacement of approximately 20,000 families” across multiple provinces, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said.
“Approximately 160,000 people have been impacted by the suspension of emergency food distributions,” the WFP added, with people in multiple areas already experiencing acute malnutrition.
In Kunar province, a laborer told AFP that the violence had prevented people from getting to the market.
“Thousands of families have left the village” of Sirkanay, said Asadullah, who only gave one name.
“In some houses, only one person has stayed to guard the home, and the rest have left. The village has become empty,” the 30-year-old added.
At least 42 civilians have been killed and 104 wounded since Thursday, including children, the UN mission in Afghanistan reported.
Afghanistan said the latest casualties include three children killed in a “crime committed by the Pakistani military regime” in Kunar province, deputy government spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said Monday.
Pakistan has not commented on Afghan civilian casualties.
As civilians flee, Afghanistan’s defense ministry reported “extensive and heavy offensive and revenge attacks” across seven provinces over the past day.
The government acknowledged earlier air strikes on Bagram for the first time, with the defense ministry saying “there were no casualties or damage.”
Two residents told AFP on Sunday that they had heard air strikes in Bagram, north of the capital.
Pakistani security sources said strikes at Bagram were based on “credible intelligence” to disrupt the “supply of critical equipment and stores” for Afghan soldiers and militants fighting Pakistani forces along the frontier.
Pakistani fighter jets also flew nighttime sorties over Kabul, another security source told AFP.
‘Finish this menace’
Islamabad’s confirmation that its aircraft flew over the Afghan capital came hours after AFP journalists in the city heard multiple explosions.
The blasts were heard alongside anti-aircraft weapons and gunfire from across the city.
An AFP journalist in Jalalabad city, between Kabul and the frontier, reported hearing explosions and various weapons being fired.
At the nearest border crossing, around 50 kilometers (30 miles) from Jalalabad, residents in Torkham told AFP the days-long fighting was ongoing.
Pakistan said its February air strikes that sparked the escalation were targeting militants.
Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of failing to act against militant groups that carry out attacks in Pakistan, which the Taliban government rejects.
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Tuesday it was “never too late to talk,” but warned: “We will finish this menace.”
Afghanistan’s defense ministry spokesman, Enayatullah Khowarazmi, said more than 25 soldiers have been killed.
He estimated Pakistani fatalities among troops at around 150, while Pakistan says more than 430 Afghan soldiers have been killed.
Casualty claims from both sides are difficult to verify independently.
The violence of recent days is the worst since October fighting killed more than 70 people on both sides, with land borders between the neighbors largely shut since.
