New Coronavirus Variant Detected in Pakistan Too

NEW DELHI, Dec 29: Pakistan has also hit by the new variant of Coronavirus detected in the United Kingdom. The Pakistani government on Tuesday confirmed its first case of the new variant after it identified the strain in three samples taken from passengers who had returned from Britain.

The health department in Sindh said the samples of 12 returnees were taken for genotyping, out of which six tested positive. “Samples of 3 UK returnees show a 95 per cent match to the new coronavirus variant from the UK in the first phase of genotyping,” it said in a tweet.

The health department said the provincial government was tracing contacts of these patients, and all those who came in contact with them were being isolated. The new variant is considered as 70 per cent more transmissible and has sparked concerns around the world. Following the development, Pakistan extended the ban on the UK flights till January 4.

(Manas Dasgupta)