The beginning of a fifth wave of the coronavirus pandemic in Karachi is expected as a rapid surge in coronavirus cases has been observed across Sindh, and especially in Karachi.
321 SARS-Cov-2 or COVID-19 infections were detected in the city in the past couple of days. However, no casualties have been witnessed overnight anywhere in the province, said the federal health officials Sunday.
“A total of 403 new coronavirus cases have been reported in Sindh in the last 24 hours, of which 321 were from Karachi,” the officials said.
An official of the National Health Services, Regulations, and Coordination (NHS,R&C) said that the latest infections pushed the positivity rate in the city to 6%.
“As many as 75% cases reported from Sindh were from Karachi alone, probably due to community transmission of Omicron variant of the virus,” he said.
Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar, hinting at the start of the fifth COVID-19 across the country with Karachi being the hotspot, called for taking preventive measures by citizens to protect themselves and their loved ones.
“Genome sequencing shows a rising proportion of omicron cases particularly in Karachi. Remember: wearing a mask is your best protection,” Asad Umar had said in a tweet Sunday morning.
NHS officials said they were fearing the start of the fifth wave of COVID-19 from Karachi after the emergence of the first case of the Omicron variant from the port city.
They said that the “Omicron variant is spreading like wildfire” due to the low vaccination rate in Karachi, where only 40% of the public is vaccinated.
According to them, Lahore is next on the list where cases are expected to rise after Karachi as the vaccination rate is also only 50% among the eligible population while Non-Pharmaceutical Interventions and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are also very relaxed in both the cities.
“Cases will also increase in Islamabad, but as compared to Karachi and Lahore, Islamabad is 80% vaccinated while SOPs are more adhered to in the capital as compared to Karachi and Lahore,” the official added.
Sindh Health Department officials said the Sindh chief minister and health department are likely to review the situation and discuss the overall spread of COVID-19 with experts on Monday or Tuesday after an exponential rise in cases. They said 403 new cases had emerged in Sindh when 14,555 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours, adding that 321 cases were from Karachi.
They maintained that currently, 5,857 patients were under treatment; of them, 5,677 were in home isolation, 40 at isolation centres and 140 at different hospitals.
The condition of 136 patients was stated to be critical, including 15 shifted to ventilators.
