No new COVID-19 restrictions as Pakistan detects omicron sub-variant in incoming travelers

A health official collects a swab sample from a man to test for the COVID-19 inside a van along the roadside in Islamabad, Pakistan, on November 26, 2020. (AFP/File)

• Authorities do not disclose name of country from where variant brought to Pakistan
• BA.2.12.1 believed to be 27 percent more contagious than previous BA.2 variant

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Institute of Health (NIH) said on Monday the first cases of the coronavirus omicron sub-variant BA.2.12.1 had been detected in samples collected at airports from foreign travelers.
BA.2.12.1 is accounting for a growing share of United States cases — about 36 percent of samples sequenced during the week ending April 30, according to the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It has also been found in other countries and is believed to be 27 percent more contagious than the BA.2 variant.
“We have reported this case to the media and public after this sub-variant was detected in some samples recently collected at our airports,” NIH focal person Dr. Mumtaz Ali Khan told Arab News.
“We aren’t recommending any new coronavirus-related restrictions at the moment, but have enhanced our monitoring and screening of all incoming travelers at airports.”
“We cannot disclose the name of the particular country from which this sub-variant was brought in Pakistan,” Khan said, adding that the variant had been found in more than one sample, and the news was being made public so citizens would understand the urgency of taking precautions and getting vaccines.
“This is more transmissible than previous variants with mild symptoms and less severity,” Khan said, saying the best preventive measure was to wear masks in crowded places and get vaccinated.
“We strongly recommended getting vaccinated and all those due for booster must get the shots immediately,” he said, saying the NIH was recommending a fourth shot to build immunity against the virus.
Khan said the coronavirus would keep mutating as long as it spread through the population: “The omicron variant will continue to evolve, and it is good in a way that the virus may weaken too.”
Pakistan lifted all coronavirus-related restrictions in March following a significant decline in daily infections across the country.
In the last 24 hours, Pakistan reported 100 new infections with zero deaths. Around 122 million people in Pakistan, out of a population of 220 million, are fully vaccinated.