Aaj TV English News - Pakistan https://english.aaj.tv/ Aaj TV English en-Us Copyright 2026 Fri, 03 Apr 2026 22:51:03 +0500 Fri, 03 Apr 2026 22:51:03 +0500 60 No new Covid variant detected in Pakistan, says health ministry https://english.aaj.tv/news/30311178/no-new-covid-variant-detected-in-pakistan-says-health-ministry <p><strong>No new Covid variant has been identified in Pakistan, the health ministry spokesperson said on Teusday after sections of the media claimed that a case had been reported in Karachi, Sindh.</strong></p> <p>The samples were sent to the Aga Khan University Hospital after the suspected case was confirmed through genome sequencing conducted at the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS).</p> <p>The spokesperson rebuffed all reports about any such virus in the community as “fake”.</p> <p>The BF.7, short for BA.5.2.1.7, is a sub-lineage of the Omicron variant BA.5, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).</p> <p>The virus that originated from China around the end of 2019 has since mutated into the delta variant, then omicron and its sublineages, which continue to plague the world today.</p> <p>BF.7 has an R0 or basic reproduction number of 10 to 18.6, <em>NBC News</em> reported. This indicates that an affec­ted person could transmit the virus to 10 to 18.6 other people on average. In comparison, Omicron had an R0 of 5.08.</p> <p>The two are being tracked as variants of concern by authorities in China and the US.</p> No new Covid variant has been identified in Pakistan, the health ministry spokesperson said on Teusday after sections of the media claimed that a case had been reported in Karachi, Sindh.

The samples were sent to the Aga Khan University Hospital after the suspected case was confirmed through genome sequencing conducted at the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS).

The spokesperson rebuffed all reports about any such virus in the community as “fake”.

The BF.7, short for BA.5.2.1.7, is a sub-lineage of the Omicron variant BA.5, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The virus that originated from China around the end of 2019 has since mutated into the delta variant, then omicron and its sublineages, which continue to plague the world today.

BF.7 has an R0 or basic reproduction number of 10 to 18.6, NBC News reported. This indicates that an affec­ted person could transmit the virus to 10 to 18.6 other people on average. In comparison, Omicron had an R0 of 5.08.

The two are being tracked as variants of concern by authorities in China and the US.

]]> Pakistan https://english.aaj.tv/news/30311178 Tue, 31 Jan 2023 17:54:49 +0500 none@none.com (Kamran Sheikh) Children riding on a bike with their family wear facemasks as a preventive measure against the Covid-19 coronavirus, in Karachi on October 29, 2020. AFP