Planning Minister has warned that there is clear evidence of another Covid-19 wave as cases of the new variant, Omicron, are increasing — particularly in Karachi.
Separately, a fresh international survey of 34 countries shows that life for at least 38 per cent of Pakistanis has already returned to normal, compared to a global average of 15pc.
Moreover, 28pc Pakistanis were of the opinion that the pandemic had already come to an end, compared with a mere 9pc of people in other countries
Data from the National Command and Operations Center (NCOC) shows that the positivity rate, which was 1.08pc had reached 1.3pc Encouragingly, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has made PCR testing mandatory for everyone flying in from overseas. The number of daily new cases has been steadily rising for the past one month and if this upward trend continues the situation may get out of hand pretty soon. The critical nature of this challenge we can gauge from the hard conditions even some developed countries are going through. Across Pakistan there is an urgent need to start an extensive vaccination drive and increase tests of people of all ages, especially the elderly.
According to Asad Umar, the recent surge in cases seemed to be due to the most transmissible variant of Covid-19, Omicron.
“Genome sequencing is showing a rising proportion of Omicron cases, particularly in Karachi.
The survey, titled ‘Covid-19: Will The Pandemic Ever End and How Will We Know?’ conducted by market research company Ipsos in 34 countries showed that there was no consensus on what would signal the end of the Covid-19 pandemic. It also showed that Pakistan had the highest share of those who thought the pandemic was over.
The survey sampled 22,023 adults aged between 18-74 years and was conducted in Pakistan, United States, Canada, Malaysia, South Africa, Turkey, Australia, Brazil, Mainland China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Spain, Argentina, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Hungary, India, Israel, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Sweden and Switzerland.
Encouragingly, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has made PCR testing mandatory for everyone flying in from overseas. The number of daily new cases has been steadily rising for the past one month and if this upward trend continues the situation may get out of hand pretty soon. The critical nature of this challenge we can gauge from the hard conditions even some developed countries are going through. Across Pakistan there is an urgent need to start an extensive vaccination drive and increase tests of people of all ages, especially the elderly.
While the government needs to do all it can, the people of the country must also adopt preventive measures. That involves strict measures at businesses, community gatherings, educational institutions, industries, and in public transport Due to the spread of the Omicron variant the government must ensure everyone is following the SoPs by wearing masks and avoiding going to crowded places
Pakistan has been spared the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic – in relative terms of course – and we hope this continues, with the NCOC going forward with its good work and ensuring vaccination is spread as extensively as is possible.
