Pakistan COVID-19 Update: South African, Brazilian COVID variants found in Sindh

The South African and Brazilian variants of the novel coronavirus disease have been found in Sindh.

The confirmation comes from Sindh Health Minister Dr. Azra Pechuho.

In a video message shared on social media, Dr. Pechuho informed that the South African and Brazilian variants of COVID-19  have been found in samples taken by the Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH).

The provincial health minister shared that the AKUH collected 13 samples to perform a genomic study confirming the variants of the virus.

According to her out of these samples, 10 were of the UK variant, two of the South African variant while the other was found to be of the Brazilian variant.

Dr. Pechuho warned that if we do not take the required precautions, we could face a situation like that of India.

She added that we should adopt a “pro-active approach”, because if the situation aggravates, “there is no way to stop it”.

Pakistan on Saturday has reported 146  COVID-19 related deaths and 4,696 new positive cases

According to the statistics shared by the National Command and Control Centre (NCOC), during the past 24 hours, 48,740  tests were conducted across the country.

While the nationwide coronavirus positivity rate stands at 9.63%.

On the other hand, coronavirus vaccination will continue on May 1 as centers will remain open amid Labours Day,

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr. Faisal Sultan in a tweet said, “In view of the need to continue our vaccine drive, Covid vaccine centers will be open on May 1.”