ISLAMABAD: On Wednesday, Pakistan recorded the greatest number of COVID-19 cases since Oct. 14, when the country’s national positive rate was 1.8%. As a precaution, Dr Faisal Sultan, the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health, has instructed provinces to develop plans to cope with any potential public health crisis, including ensuring that sufficient oxygen is available.
Asad Umar, Pakistan’s Minister of Planning and Development, also advised the people to be aware of the surge in Omicron cases and to take measures.
He added that we should vaccinate people against Omicron, citing the incidents in the United States, the United Kingdom, and South Africa, where Omicron cases have led to a rise in hospitalisation rates.
According to NCOC statistics, it Covid has infected 898 people in the last 24 hours, the most since Oct. 14 when 1,086 people were infected in a single day, and 652 people are currently in serious condition.
Dr Sultan said that the positive rate was less than 1% a week ago, but that it had more than doubled in just a few days. It will take us until the following week to be in a better position to make predictions regarding the rate of growth in cases, but it appears that the number of cases will rise, he added.
He predicted that the number of hospitalizations would also rise, which is why provinces were urged to start planning earlier. “They have been asked to arrange oxygen and assure the availability of other hospital supplies to deal with any unfortunate event,” he added.
If rainy weather has any influence on viral transmission (some believe that in humid circumstances, the virus is impossible to remain in the air for long), Dr. Sultan remarked that Covid-19 has proven these ideas incorrect.
According to Dr. Sultan, their findings suggested that Omicron was generating very moderate effects in people who had been vaccinated. In addition, he noted that women have gained the most benefits from vaccinations and urged every woman to do the same.
“We cannot predict that Omicron symptoms will be minor for every person, and any such conjecture is irresponsible,” he said.
The country’s financial hub has seen a 940 percent surge in cases in just two weeks, while Punjab has recorded a 185 percent increase in cases in only 10 days after Asad Umar spoke at a press conference on Wednesday. 60 per cent of the Omicron cases are reported from Karachi and Lahore.
Eight countries have been restricted from flying to Hong Kong as part of new restrictions aimed at preventing the spread of the new Omicron type in the Asian financial centre. Since China’s “zero-Covid” policy was implemented before the Beijing Olympics, it has also introduced subsequent lockdowns in two major cities.
The United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia have all declared new highs in the number of cases reported.
Flights from Australia, Canada, France, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, and the United States are now prohibited from China for the next two weeks because of new restrictions.
