Lockdown option not being considered: Sindh health minister

Sindh Health Minister Dr Azra Pechuho said on Thursday that the authorities were not considering imposing a lockdown in the province.

While speaking to the media in Hyderabad, she said that over 170 Omicron cases have been detected in Karachi, adding that the new variant was rapidly spreading. "The Omicron cases will increase to over 1,000 in the next two months," Dr Pechuho said.

The minister said that the decision on lockdown in the province is dependant on the rate of hospitalisation. "If hospitals start filling up with patients and there is no space left, then we will go towards a lockdown," Dr Pechuho said.

Karachi reports 11 more Omicron variant cases

However, she said the authorities will consider a mini lockdown in those areas where the virus is rapidly spreading.

Meanwhile, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said that so far 268 cases of Omicron have been confirmed while 95 cases have been reported from December 28 to January 02.

He further said that some cases have been found in people with a travel history while most of them were locally transmitted. Meanwhile, the positivity ratio in Karachi has reached 9.23%, a day after it was reported at 8.91%.

Moreover, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) head Asad Umar also reportedly said that the option of lockdown was not being considered at the moment. The Planning, Development and Special Initiatives minister added that they are looking at the coronavirus numbers very closely.