The COVID-19 positivity rate in Pakistan has reached 3 percent, with 582 new cases reported in the past day, according to data from the National Institute of Health, Islamabad (NIH), which was released on Monday morning. This follows several weeks of changing statistics.
After performing diagnostic testing on 19,389 samples, the new illnesses were found.The newest coronavirus variety to generate significant infection waves worldwide is BA5, which belongs to the Omicron family.
According to the most recent data from the World Health Organization, it was behind 52% of cases that had been sequenced by late June, rising from 37% in one week.It is believed to be the cause of around 65% of illnesses in the US.
BA5 is not brand-new. It was first found in January, as well as the WHO has been keeping an eye on it since April.
It is a sister variation of the Omicron stress that has been prevalent globally that since end of 2021 and has already led to increases in case rates – even with less testing – in nations like South Africa, that was first discovered, as well as the United Kingdom, some regions of Europe, and Australia.
Similar to its strongly linked sibling BA4, BA5 is especially adept at getting over the immune defences provided by either immunisation or previous infection.
In a news briefing on Tuesday, Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHO’s technical lead on COVID-19, said that “BA5 has a growth advantage over the other nearby regions of Omicron that are circulating.”
