AN advisory panel of the World Health Organization (WHO) classified on Friday a new Covid-19 variant first detected in South Africa as a “highly transmissible” virus of concern and named it Omicron under its Greek-letter system.
The discovery of a new coronavirus variant sent a chill through much of the world as nations raced to halt air travel, markets fell sharply and scientists held emergency meetings to weigh the exact risks, which were largely unknown.
This latest development shows the threat of Covid-19 is far from over and raises the spectre of re-imposition of the restrictions that were either lifted or relaxed only recently in different parts of the globe.
Though it is not yet clear whether this new variant would pose any significant threat to public health but to be on the safe side, precautionary measures are required to guard against its spread.
The European Union (EU) moved quickly in imposing an air travel ban from southern Africa, urging travellers coming from the region to respect strict quarantine rules.
The United Kingdom and the Japanese government too have adopted precautionary measures requiring tests and quarantine for passengers coming from African countries.
They say prevention is better than cure and, therefore, the Government of Pakistan should also move quickly in enforcing precautionary steps.
It is encouraging that the Government has not lowered its guards in checking the spread of the virus as is evident from the latest decision of the Sindh government to bar unvaccinated people from entering mosques.
Now that vaccines are widely available, it is the responsibility of all citizens to get them vaccinated for their own sake and that of others.
