ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Planning Asad Umar Friday warned of a fourth COVID-19 wave in Pakistan in July, urging the nation to follow SOPs to stay safe during the pandemic.
The federal minister, who is also the chief of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the most important body in the country tackling the coronavirus pandemic, said they analysed data which hinted that another wave of the pandemic can hit Pakistan if safety protocols are not implemented.
“Reviewed the artificial intelligence-based disease modeling analysis today in NCOC. In the absence of strong SOP enforcement and continued strong vaccination program, the 4th wave could emerge in Pakistan in July,” Asad Umar tweeted.
“Please adhere to sop’s and vaccinate as soon as possible,” he added.
The third COVID-19 wave which hit the country in February proved deadlier than previous ones. During the third wave, the number of active cases in Pakistan crossed the 50,000 mark on March 31.
Within one month, Pakistan’s coronavirus figures almost doubled as on April 29, the country’s active cases crossed the 90,000 mark.
Pakistan reported the highest coronavirus positivity ratio of 11.63% on April 4. As per the NCOC, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country stand at 952,907, while 897,834 people have so far recovered from the virus.
Currently, there are nearly 33,000 active cases and the nationwide death toll stands at 22,152.
According to the NCOC’s data, during the first wave, the number of active cases surpassed the 50,000 mark in June 2020 and then started to decline and finally, dropped to less than 6,000 by September.
The second wave of the pandemic hit the country in October after which the NCOC introduced restrictions, among which included shutting down schools and other educational institutions.
By December, the number of active case had exceeded 50,000 and then, gradualy come down to the 16,000 mark in February 2021.
Pakistan kicked off its vaccination campain on February 2 and has so far administered 14,165,288 doses.
