As if the existing political uncertainty and unprecedented economic crisis due to biblical summer were not enough that a new corona variant has also started rearing its ugly head again. Yes, the Health Dept report says that Dow University of Health Science Hospital have detected the first case of new corona variant known as BF-7 in the city.

This new sub variant of corona virus is highly infectious and can spread like the wild fires.

The most dangerous thing about this new variant is that it can infect the already vaccinated persons who have received the corona vaccines due to its immune deceptive characteristics during its first onslaught in 2020 and afterwards.

Children and elderly persons are at high risk and those who are already inflicted with lethal diseases due to which they have a compromised immune system are also at greater risk. This sudden emergence of the new variant which is currently at peak in China, has been attributed to the negligent behaviors on part of the people who have become complacent after the virus was controlled last year but not completely wiped out.

After the government announced total relaxations in corona lockdowns towards the start of the 2022, people became complacent and started flouting the corona SOPs at will, with no longer wearing masks or adhering to other SOPs like maintaining social distance and washing hands frequently etc.

The vaccination process which was in full swing also came to a halt once the government eased down the lockdown restrictions. The booster dose which was highly publicized by the government was not received by the people, who became complacent once life came to normalcy after the lock-downs.

On the other hand, the new variants of the virus are said to be capable of spreading very fast but the good thing is that it is not as lethal as the first onslaught of corona viruses that of 2020.

People who are contracting the new variants the world over have been observed to be recovering relatively earlier but even then the implications can become serious for persons already suffering from some conditions and for those who are above 60 years of age.

The irony is that it is mainly the cities like Karachi , Lahore and Islamabad which can fast turn into hub for the  new variants. Karachi can lead the country in number of cases as it has reported its first case. Though overall, the situation is in control but it can spread if people were not made to adhere to corona SOPs at public places.

The new variant which is known as B 7  can spread at fast speed. This is not the one and only variant which is making the persons ill in big cities where the elderly and those persons who have some health condition are at greater risk of contracting these variants, which are highly contagious in nature.

The provincial governments must come up with fresh strategy to start implementing the SOPs and ensure other preventive steps seriously to nip the threat in the bud so that it can be stopped from spreading, otherwise it can spread into new wave of corona pandemic.

Moreover, health experts are advising the people for abiding on SOPS to keep the viruses at bay.

The variant is common in China where most of the people are taking it as a seasonal flu as the symptoms match but in reality it is the corona variant B 7.

It may be recalled here that Pakistan had contained the virus last year but it was not totally eliminated but the people did not care for this fact and once the lockdown was removed, people become active on every front, having a total disregard for the corona SOPs. It is due to their complacency that the new variants have staged a come-back.

In this backdrop, it has become imperative that the government must take preventive steps.

On the other hand, some people are still hesitant to get corona vaccines due to the misleading campaign  in our country and it is these widespread misinformation, which make the people hesitant and they avoid getting vaccines. So the various misconceptions need to be removed from the public mind with counter campaigns on the print, electronic and social media.

The National Command and Control Centre (NCOC) report says that it is fully equipped to deal with  the new threat arising out of  the new  B 7 variant which first engulfed China but it can also enter Pakistan  as China has lifted the lockdown and the virus can spread through travel. It may be mentioned here that the NCOC had dealt with the past variants of corona very well in the past and it is hoped that they will continue with same zeal now that the new variant has surfaced in the country as first case has been detected in Karachi.

Published in The Daily National Courier, February, 03 2023

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