UK coronavirus variant is confirmed in 50% of patients in Karachi according to the health minister of Sindh, Dr. Azra Pechuho.

“The UK coronavirus variant is spreading very speedily and it had also spread in KPK and Punjab as a result of which “a lot of deaths are occurring and a lot of patients are being affected.” She said

“This variant has entered Karachi as well and the UK variant was observed in 50 percent of the samples we tested in the genomic studies we did,” she said, adding that because of that, there was a need to take “great precautions” against the coronavirus.

Pechuho said that this month of Ramazan and Eid-ul-Fitr is also coming so there is a need to take care when visiting the markets during Sehri and Iftar and for Eid shopping.

“Follow SOPs, don’t unreasonably go out, avoid crowds, keep washing your hands with water and soap, wearing a mask is essential and maintain social distancing. In this way you can protect yourself, your family members, your relatives, and other people in the community from this disease,” she said.

She added, that vaccination centers would remain open after Iftar and advised people to get themselves vaccinated to protect against coronavirus.

What we know

The U.K. coronavirus variant is known as B.1.1.7, It was first identified in the U.K. last fall and by December it was detected in several other countries including the U.S. The variant is known to be substantially more transmissible than other SARS-CoV2 coronavirus lineages and quickly took over as the dominant variant in the U.K., late last year, sparking off a damaging and deadly second wave which leaves the U.K. currently second in the world for the most Covid-19 deaths per 100,000 people.