KATHMANDU, JANUARY 25

A sample study conducted by Nepal Public Health Laboratory has revealed that the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 pandemic was found in 88 per cent of the samples, whereas the rest were of the Delta variant.

NPHL Chief Runa Jha said 28 of the 32 swab samples collected from all provinces were of the Omicron variant, whereas the rest were of the Delta variant.

NPHL has sent the samples to laboratories in New Delhi and London for reconfirmation and are awaiting the reports.

The National Health Research Council Spokesperson Pradip Gyawali said the NPHL research indicated that Omicron was slowly replacing the Delta variant and that the Omicron infection had now spread at the community level.

He said his office was carrying out two comprehensive studies to know more about the COVID variants, rate of positivity among the vaccinated and the unvaccinated people, and the efficacy of different COVID-19 vaccinations.

The NHRC will collect 1,500 samples from across the country.

Former director of Epidemiology and Disease Control Division Baburam Marasini said the NPHL study showed that 88 per cent COVID positivity was caused by the Omicron variant, which was more contagious but less virulent than the Delta variant.

'The Delta variant causes pneumonia and even if 12 per cent of the COVID patients are down with the variant, the government will have to increase its preparedness to fight the pandemic.'

He said COVID-19 patients with Delta variant were more likely to be hospitalised than those infected by the Omicron variant.

A version of this article appears in the print on January 26, 2022, of The Himalayan Times.