NIH dismisses reports of new Covid variant
At least six Karachi residents on Tuesday were confirmed to be infected by the XBB and XBB.1 Omicron variants of Covid-19, the Sindh health department reported.
According to the details, the sequencing was done by Agha Khan Hospital — one of the major private health facilities of the provincial capital.
The health department also revealed that the confirmed cases had been detected in residents of Defence Housing Authority, Shadman Homes and Tariq Road.
“All patients are in stable condition,” the Sindh health department’s spokesperson confirmed.
Earlier, National Institute of Health (NIH) Executive Director Aamer Ikram on Tiesdy denied all reports surrounding the presence of new variants of coronavirus in the country.
According to NIH Islamabad, XBB is a variant of Omicron, and 20 cases have been detected in Pakistan, which it claims is not “a point of concern of global health”.
“No cases of a new variant of Covid have been reported,” the NIH official said while adding that all “arrangements have been completed to combat the new variant” should a case emerge.
