KARACHI: A coronavirus variant first discovered in the United Kingdom now accounts for up to 70 per cent of Covid-19 infections across Pakistan, a research centre studying the disease in the country said on Saturday. “There is a 60pc to 70pc prevalence of the UK variant in Pakistan,” Professor Dr Muhammad Iqbal Chaudhry, director at the International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), University of Karachi, told Reuters, adding that this figure was 2pc in January. The “UK variant”, known as B.1.1.7 and first identified in Britain late last year, is believed to be more transmissible than other previously dominant coronavirus variants. Pakistan has seen a daily death toll of more than 100 in recent weeks. Officials are worried the strained healthcare system could reach a breaking point if more contagious coronavirus variants begin to spread, as has happened in India.

Source: Pakistan Today May 08, 2021 16:30 UTC