Search

Health Ministry warns of fifth Covid wave in Feb as Omicron spreads

Country's omicron tally reaches 75 while 12 of them are linked with foreign travel

10:28 AM | 29 Dec, 2021
Health Ministry warns of fifth Covid wave in Feb as Omicron spreads

ISLAMABAD – The Ministry of National Health Services has warned of a fifth wave of novel coronavirus as the country is facing the arrival of a more contagious omicron variant.

Reports in local media said the South Asian country is likely to hit with the fifth wave of the deadly disease in the mid of February 2022 as community transmission of Omicron variant has started.

With the detection of Omicron cases in all major cities, officials are expected daily detection of around 3,000-4,000 cases per day especially in Karachi, Lahore, and Islamabad where so far 75 people were found infected with the new variant.

On Tuesday, NIH confirmed that so far 75 cases of the Omicron variant were confirmed in Pakistan, including 33 in Karachi where the first case was reported on December 13 while 17 cases of the Omicron variant have been reported from Islamabad and 13 in Lahore.

Delving into details, an NIH official said most of the Omicron variant cases were ‘asymptomatic’, which shows that the new variant could be spreading silently in metropolises where only a few labs had the capacity to pick the suspected cases.

Meanwhile, World Health Organization said the overall risk related to the new variant of concern Omicron remains very high after Covid cases numbers spiked up by 11 percent globally last week.

The new variant is behind rapid virus spikes in states where it has already overtaken the previously-dominant Delta variant. The new variant has a growth advantage over the Delta with a doubling time of two to three days and rapid increases in the incidence of cases are seen in a number of countries, per reports.

US reports all-time high daily cases of over 0.44 million in a day

The United States has reported a record high of over 440,000 daily Covid cases as the Omicron variant spreads in the holiday season. The variant of concern had not been sweeping the country as much as expected earlier, with the estimated proportion of new cases accounted for by the highly transmissible strain in the week through December 18 sharply revised downward to 23 percent from 73 percent.

It showed that the Delta variant, which triggered a surge in cases in the summer, was still the dominant variant in the US.

Advertisement

Pakistani rupee remains stable against US Dollar, Euro, Pound, Riyal and Dirham; Check forex rates

Pakistani rupee remained stable against the US dollar, and other currencies in the open market on Friday.

Dollar Rate in Pakistan Today

On Friday, the US dollar remained stable and was being quoted at 283.2 for buying and 286.15 for selling.

Euro comes down to 308 for buying and 311 for selling. British Pound rate dropped to 358.5 for buying, and 362 for selling.

UAE Dirham AED witnessed slight drop and new rate stands at 77.4 whereas the Saudi Riyal remained stable at 76.

Today's currency exchange rates in Pakistan - 8 December 2023

Source: Forex Association of Pakistan. (last update 09:00 AM)

Currency Symbol Buying Selling
US Dollar ‎USD 283.2 286.15
Euro EUR 308 311
UK Pound Sterling GBP 358.5 362
U.A.E Dirham AED 77.4 78.1
Saudi Riyal SAR 76 76.8
Australian Dollar AUD 187.2 189
Bahrain Dinar BHD 757.23 765.23
Canadian Dollar CAD 209 211
China Yuan CNY 39.89 40.29
Danish Krone DKK 41.19 41.59
Hong Kong Dollar HKD 36.41 36.71
Indian Rupee INR 3.42 3.53
Japanese Yen JPY 1.39 1.45
Kuwaiti Dinar KWD 921.71 930.71
Malaysian Ringgit MYR 61.02 61.62
New Zealand Dollar NZD 174.54 176.54
Norwegians Krone NOK 26.05 26.35
Omani Riyal OMR 739.62 747.62
Qatari Riyal ‎QAR 78.22 78.92
Singapore Dollar SGD 211 213
Swedish Korona SEK 27.12 27.42
Swiss Franc CHF 324.94 327.44
Thai Bhat THB 8.06 8.21

Gold prices in Pakistan increase; Check out latest rates here

Gold price in Pakistan increased as the yellow metal witnessed an upward trend in the international market.

Gold Rates in Pakistan Today - 8 December 2023

On Friday, the price of a single tola of 24-karat gold stands at Rs217,400 and 10 grams of 24k gold costs Rs186,390.

Single tola of 22 Karat Gold costs Rs199,282, 21 karat rate for per tola is Rs190,225 and 18k gold rate is Rs163,050 each tola.

In the global market, gold prices hover at around $2026, gaining $8.30 on Friday.

Today Gold Rate in Pakistan

Today Gold Price in Pakistan (8 December 2023)

City Gold Silver
Lahore PKR 217,400 PKR 2,583
Karachi PKR 217,400 PKR 2,583
Islamabad PKR 217,400 PKR 2,583
Peshawar PKR 217,400 PKR 2,583
Quetta PKR 217,400 PKR 2,583
Sialkot PKR 217,400 PKR 2,583
Attock PKR 217,400 PKR 2,583
Gujranwala PKR 217,400 PKR 2,583
Jehlum PKR 217,400 PKR 2,583
Multan PKR 217,400 PKR 2,583
Bahawalpur PKR 217,400 PKR 2,583
Gujrat PKR 217,400 PKR 2,583
Nawabshah PKR 217,400 PKR 2,583
Chakwal PKR 217,400 PKR 2,583
Hyderabad PKR 217,400 PKR 2,583
Nowshehra PKR 217,400 PKR 2,583
Sargodha PKR 217,400 PKR 2,583
Faisalabad PKR 217,400 PKR 2,583
Mirpur PKR 217,400 PKR 2,583

Advertisement

Follow us on Facebook

Follow us on Twitter

Sign up for Newsletter