KARACHI: Two of the six air passengers, who were found to have Covid during screening at the Jinnah International Airport, have tested positive for JN.1 variant, currently a cause of concern in several countries.

The passengers, one of them a resident of Kech in Balochistan, and the other of Qasimabad in Hyderabad, had arrived in Karachi from Abu Dhabi and Bangkok, respectively.

Their samples for genome sequencing had been sent to a lab of the Dow University of Health Sciences (DUHS) after they tested positive for Covid at the airport.

“We are in contact with the passengers. Their condition is stable,” a health department spokesperson said, adding that the families had been advised to get themselves tested for Covid.

“The airport authorities have been asked to resume the public service announcement system on Covid so that passengers start wearing masks and ensure physical distancing and hand hygiene to reduce the infection risk during travel.”

Sindh health dept issues advisory, calls for taking preventive measures against new variant

Meanwhile, the health department has released an advisory, directing district health officials and medical superintendents across the province to identify and notify individuals who have been in close contact with the confirmed cases and ensure proper treatment to the patients.

The directives also included the establishment of a Covid ward at the district and taluka hospitals and providing the facility for vaccination against the disease.

It might be recalled that six air passengers have so far been tested positive for the new Covid variant in the country. Four of the patients, according to the federal health ministry, have recovered.

According to experts, the JN.1 variant, also called a sub-variant of the Omicron lineage, is more transmissible than other circulating variants, and the proportion of cases caused by this particular virus has been rising.

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2024