ISLAMABAD: Health authorities in Pakistan have detected over five dozen cases of the omicron variant of coronavirus amid a surge in virus infections in the country, local media reported on Saturday. 
The omicron strain has higher transmissibility than other variants. It emerged in South Africa in November 2021 and spread across nearly 90 countries within a few weeks of its discovery. 
Pakistan has reported more than 500 daily new infections over the last two days, according to official figures. The South Asian nation last month tightened up travel restrictions from some countries to counter the threat of the new strain. 
Punjab, the country’s most populous province, reported 49 confirmed cases of omicron variant for the first time, the Dawn newspaper reported, citing an official. 
“Forty-eight confirmed cases of the new variant were reported from Lahore while only one from Bahawalpur,” the report read. “Most of the cases were reported from [Lahore’s] Gulberg and Cantonment areas.” 
Authorities in Karachi detected an omicron hotspot in Gulshan-e-Iqbal area after the emergence of 12 cases of the new strain, the Karachi East deputy commissioner’s office said. 
They have imposed a lockdown in the vicinity to prevent the spread of the new variant. 
Pakistan reported its first omicron case in Karachi on December 13. The South Asian nation has also stepped up its vaccination drive against coronavirus. 
So far, the country had vaccinated more than 150 million people with Punjab leading the way by inoculating 68 percent of its eligible population, Pakistani Planning Minister Asad Umar said late last month. 
A total of 92,086,806 people had received at least one dose of anti-COVID vaccines, while 65,149,948 individuals had been fully inoculated in the country, according to official figures.