Planning Minister Asad Umar said on Thursday that the option of a lockdown is not currently being considered, despite a fifth wave of the coronavirus as daily infections exceeded the 1,000 mark for the first time in nearly three months.
“No plans at this time [imposing] Lockout. we are looking [Covid] Shared the numbers very closely as we shared today what has happened in the rest of the world and what is starting to happen in Pakistan,” Umar told geo news,
Instead, he said, the immediate focus was on speeding up vaccination and banning those who refused to be vaccinated.
The Planning Minister’s remarks come on the same day that Pakistan recorded 1,085 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours.
The country had registered 1,086 cases on October 14, 2021.
According to the National Command and Operation Center, the positivity rate has increased to 2.32 percent.
Nationwide analysis of cases and deaths in the last 24 hours:
- Sindh: 578 cases, 1 death
- Punjab: 360 cases
- Islamabad: 104 cases
- Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: 36 cases, 3 deaths
- Azad Jammu and Kashmir: 6 cases
- Balochistan: 1 case, 1 death
Gilgit-Baltistan has not confirmed any new infections or deaths.
The rise in cases is being driven by highly permeable the ommicron version of the coronavirus that has brought a fifth wave country from this disease
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health (SAPM) Dr Faisal Sultan warned of the potential for significant strain on the public health system, saying provinces were advised to ensure adequate oxygen availability to deal with any situation. Arrange as such situation.
talking to dawn, Dr Sultan had said that a week ago the positivity rate was less than 1 pc but it was doubled over the course of a few days.
“We will be in a better position to make predictions about the pace of increase in cases next week, as the incubation period of the virus is about a week, but at the moment it looks like cases will increase,” he had said.
In his opinion, the hospitalization requirements would increase and that is why the provinces were advised to make arrangements.
“They have been advised to make arrangements for oxygen and ensure availability of other hospital supplies to deal with any untoward situation,” Sultan said.
Asked whether the rainy season would have any effect on the transmission of the virus – some believe that the virus is unable to survive for long in the air in humid conditions – Dr Sultan said that Covid-19 has affected all Theories have been proven wrong.
SAPM said their data indicated that Omicron was causing only mild symptoms in vaccinated people, especially the elderly. He also pointed out that women have benefited more from the vaccine than men and encouraged every woman to get vaccinated.
However, he cautioned that: “We cannot say that Omicron’s symptoms will be mild for everyone and all such speculation is premature.”
Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar also warned about the increase in the number of omicron cases and urged the public to exercise caution.
Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Omar said that 60 per cent of Omicron cases were being reported from Karachi and Lahore, while the country’s financial hub saw a 940 per cent increase in cases in just two weeks, while Punjab There was an increase of 185 percent in cases. Ten days.
Citing the example of the US, UK and South Africa, where Omicron cases resulted in significant increases in hospitalization rates, he said people should get vaccinated to reduce the potential impact of Omicron.
city wise status
Sindh’s health department said Karachi’s positivity has increased to 9.23 per cent with 416 cases in the last 24 hours.
It said that more than 200 Omicron cases were confirmed and genomic sequencing of additional suspected cases was underway.
City health officials indicated earlier taking drastic measures Which includes bringing more areas under smart lockdown to prevent the spread of the virus. The situation had forced the Pakistan Medical Association to prompt federal and provincial governments to intensify anti-Covid vaccination efforts and enact legislation on coronavirus-related standard operating procedures that would help implement preventive measures.
A health department spokesperson had said, “At this stage, our priority is to formulate COVID-19 vaccination measures, including new restrictions on non-vaccinated people, and implement the implementation of SOPs related to the coronavirus.” number of cases.
Meanwhile, there is also the version spreading in lahoreAccording to health officials, in posh areas largely due to the international travel factor. In his view, the Punjab government is ‘resting’ as no precautionary measures are being taken to stop the transmission of the new edition.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also registered its first five omicron cases on Wednesday.
“As expected, it was only a matter of time. Our hospital system has withstood four surges and will remain ready. Our best defense is to vaccinate as per the guidelines of the National Command and Operations Center,” said Health Minister Taimur Salim Jhagra tweeted on this matter.
Khyber Medical University Vice-Chancellor Prof Ziaul Haque confirmed the patients belonging to Peshawar. He had said that the patients had no travel history, which shows that local community transmission has already started and standard operating procedures need to be strictly followed.
The ‘inevitable’ arrival
In November, Omar and SAPM Sultan did sounded the alarm, adding that the arrival of the Omicron version was inevitable and a matter of time.
“This [strain] It has to be spread all over the world as we saw earlier that when a variant comes, the world is so interconnected that it is impossible to stop,” Omar had said, adding that vaccination was the most logical solution to curb the menace.
Pakistan on November 27 imposed a complete ban on travel from six South African countries – South Africa, Lesotho, Eswatini, Mozambique, Botswana and Namibia – and Hong Kong.
This travel ban Later it was extended to nine more countries – Croatia, Hungary, Netherlands, Ukraine, Ireland, Slovenia, Vietnam, Poland and Zimbabwe.
Additionally, the National Command and Operating Center placed 13 countries in Category B, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Trinidad and Tobago, Azerbaijan, Mexico, Sri Lanka, Russia, Thailand, France, Austria, Afghanistan and Turkey.
All travelers to these countries are required to be fully vaccinated, while all those over the age of six must have a negative PCR test report issued 48 hours prior to boarding.
Additional reporting by Qazi Hassan.