The Punjab health authorities in Pakistan have sounded an alert after five cases of California Epsilon strain of COVID-19 were detected in Lahore, the Dawn reported. The country has been reporting a sudden and massive surge in the number of COVID-19 cases.

The Epsilon variant is not new and is believed to be the second-most dominant variant in New York. It might be new in South Asia. It was first found in California in 2020 and is now present in at least 34 countries and was widespread in the United States.

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According to the Dawn, medical experts believe that Epsilon is a new threat and it is somewhat vaccine-resistant. It is almost as highly transmissible as the Delta variant, which has become the most dominant strain in Pakistan as well.

Punjab Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department Secretary Sarah Aslam on Friday said that they collected 23 suspected samples in Lahore and five of them were found positive for Epsilon.

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Epsilon strain

According to study published by the University of Washington, the Epsilon variant underwent three mutations, which is why it is potent to evade vaccine protection. Experts believed that patients infected by the strain may take longer to recover.

On March 5, 2021, the World Health Organisation (WHO) listed Epsilon as a variant of interest and was designated under ‘alerts for further monitoring’ on July 6.

In the past few days, Pakistan reported a sudden spike in the number of positive cases and it is being seen as the fourth wave. Pakistan, on Sunday, reported 5,029 COVID-19 cases, highest since April 29, when 5,112 infections were reported.

According to the data, 3 crore people have been vaccinated in the country. The Sindh province, which is the worst affected, is presently under partial lockdown. In the last 24 hours, it reported 2,772 new infections and 30 deaths.