If you live in Pakistan, Dr. Faisal Sultan says that Omicron is not something to take lightly. KARACHI: On Tuesday, Dr. Faisal Sultan, the SAPM on Health, told people not to take Omicron “seriously,” because the number of people who need to go to the hospital will go up in the next one to two weeks.
The country’s top doctor told people to follow the COVID-19 SOPs and get vaccinated as soon as possible.
“It’s still too soon to draw conclusions because it takes about a week or two for hospitalizations to rise.” Also, let’s see how the virus behaves in terms of virulence, said Dr. Faisal Sultan when he was asked why the number of COVID-19 cases in Karachi had gone up because of the spread of the Omicron variant.
Hospitalizations were very rare in Karachi, even though 8.91 percent of people in the city were positive for COVID-19, and 339 more people were tested. More than 50 percent of those who were infected with the Omicron variant were infected.
This is the first time in the last 20 months that Liaquat National Hospital has not had a single COVID-19 patient come into their COVID ward on Monday. This shows that the Omicron variant isn’t as dangerous as some think it is.
Some other hospitals in the city, like Ziauddin Hospital, said that even though the Omicron variant of coronavirus has been spreading and increasing in the city, there has been very little hospitalisation due to the virus.
At NIPA Karachi, which is the only dedicated hospital for COVID-19 patients, the Infectious Diseases Hospital and Research Center said that they, too, haven’t seen a rise in the number of patients for a long time. At the moment, most of their beds are empty.
People who have COVID-19 come to the Infectious Diseases Hospital on a daily basis, but so far we haven’t found anyone who has COVID-19 Omicron Variant. Dr Abdul Wahid Rajput, Medical Superintendent of the Infectious Diseases Hospital, told The News.
SAPM Dr Sultan thinks that when people start getting infected with the Omicron variant, there will be a lot more hospitalizations. He also told people to be on the lookout for COVID-19.
There will be a little more hospitalisation. When and how far the disease spreads and infects, it can vary how much. Evidence from around the world suggests that it spreads quickly; how much serious sickness it causes will be clear in a week or two for us.
“What I would say is that we should not take it for granted,” he said.
We want it (vaccination) to be higher for sure. When asked if the government was concerned about the low vaccination rate in major cities like Karachi and Lahore, he said: “Yes, we are concerned.” I’m happy that the vaccination rate has risen over time, but we still have a long way to go. In this case, “I would not worry but we should add more people.”
A lot of things: Masks, Masks, Masks. Avoid the crowds. Vaccinate. He told people in Karachi to “spray.”
