ISLAMABAD, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) — Pakistan has so far registered 352 infections of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, an official from the country’s health ministry said on Tuesday.

Rana Muhammad Safdar, director general of health at the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination, told Xinhua that a total of 352 Omicron cases have been reported as of Tuesday, and the majority of the cases were detected in major cities of the country, including Karachi, Lahore and the capital Islamabad.

Rapid response teams are engaged in contact tracing and placing people under quarantine, while smart lockdowns are also being imposed in affected areas, he said, adding that the solution to curbing the spread of the disease is vaccination.

Earlier on Monday, the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), the nerve center of Pakistan’s COVID-19 response, said the fifth wave of COVID-19, driven by Omicron variant, is spreading in the country at a fast pace.

The NCOC asked the provinces to achieve their vaccination targets as soon as possible to prevent the spread of the disease, saying that vaccinated people are less affected by Omicron.

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