Islamabad reports first confirmed Omicron case

Islamabad has confirmed its first case of Omicron, days after Balochistan and Karachi reported infections of the deadly variant of Covid-19.

In a tweet on Saturday, Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Hamza Shafqaat confirmed that the capital has detected its first case of the variant.

"The patient has a travel history from Karachi. We are tracing all his contacts now. Everyone plz get vaccinated and follow SOPs," he tweeted.

On Thursday, the Sindh Health Department said that six more suspected cases of the Omicron variant were reported in Karachi. As per the department, four of the patients had recently returned from South Africa while two others arrived from the United Kingdom.

The samples of all six patients have been sent for further verification. Meanwhile, Balochistan has reported at least 12 suspected cases of Omicron variant. The cases are from Kalat and the samples have been sent to the National Institute of Heart Diseases (NIHD) in Rawalpindi.

Balochistan reports at least 12 suspected Omicron cases

Due to the threat of the Omicron variant, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has approved booster jabs for people aged 30 and above. Eligible citizens can get their booster jabs from January 1, the NCOC said.

They will be administered Sinopharm, Sinovac, and Pfizer as booster jabs.

The doses will be administered free of cost. The NCOC has already approved booster shots of coronavirus vaccines for healthcare workers, immunocompromised people, and those aged over 50 years.

Pakistan vaccinates 28% of its total population against Covid-19

Meanwhile, Pakistan reported 353 new infections and seven more deaths in the last 24 hours. Sindh reported 211 cases, 3 deaths, Punjab reported 58 cases, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa confirmed 46 cases and two deaths, and Balochistan reported four new cases.

Similarly, Islamabad reported 33 cases and two deaths, Azad Jammu and Kashmir detected one new case, while Gilgit-Baltistan confirmed no new cases.