Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday, as confirmed by the lawmaker’s spokesperson.
Amidst the surging cases of Omicron variant, Rashid will quarantine at home, as reveale by the spokesperson.
It has been further revealed that the minister got herself tested after her son tested positive upon his arrival in the United States.
The spokesperson further revealed that the minister attended a meeting regarding dengue today, where the province’s chief secretary was also in attendance.
“All the participants of the meeting have been asked to get themselves tested”
It is pertinent to note that, as of January 3, Pakistan recorded 372 cases of the Omicron variant, as per the data of the Ministry of National Health Services Regulations and Coordination.
The country confirmed its first case of the highly-transmissible variant on December 13 from its most populous city, Karachi. Three weeks later, the variant, which was first reported by South Africa and Botswana, has spread to its major cities.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan confirmed to Geo.tv that a total of 372 infections of the variant have been recorded, with most of the cases being reported in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad.
Dr Sultan added that Omicron was “now in most large countries, and forms an ever increasing proportion amongst the cases detected.”
In this regard, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) had said on Monday that the fifth wave of COVID-19, which is driven by the Omicron variant, is spreading at a great pace in the country.
While addressing the epidemic curve chart data, the national immunisation plan, and disease prevalence across the country in a morning session, the NCOC confirmed that the positivity rate in Karachi has risen from 2% to 6% in the last three days, with the highest number of positive instances.
