Four cities in Pakistan report over 10pc COVID positivity rate

ISLAMABAD: Four cities reported a positive rate of above 10% for Covid-19 on Monday. The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) conducted widespread testing at educational institutions before deciding whether to close them.

4,340 cases, the most in a 24-hour period in about five months, and seven deaths were reported in the last 24 hours, bringing the national positivity rate to 8.71pc.
According to the document, Karachi reported a positive rate of 30.83 percent, Lahore 13.05 percent, Islamabad 10.75 percent, and Hyderabad 10.68 percent.

The NCOC convened a meeting to discuss alternative strategies for containing the spread of the dreaded COVID-19, such as restricting public meetings, weddings, schools, restaurants, and public transit.
The discussion, according to an official statement, addressed data from epidemic curve charts, the national immunisation policy, and disease frequency across the country.

Asad Umar, Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives, and Maj Gen Muhammad Zafar Iqbal, NCOC National Coordinator, presided over the session, which was also attended remotely by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan.

Provincial health and education ministers also joined the meeting virtually and told NCOC about the steps being taken for implementing non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) and COVID-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) in wake of a spike in coronavirus cases. It also discussed global and regional trends of Omicron virus,” the statement said.

“Keeping in view the variations in the disease, a fresh set of NPIs was presented and discussed with the provinces. Provinces will implement a new set of NPIs in the next 48 hours after consultative process with all stakeholders,” the statement added.
“Decision about education institutions will be taken depending on data of positive cases of various institutions for which massive testing in educational institutions is being carried out,” the statement stated.

According to an official of the Ministry of National Health Services, the conference determined that provinces might apply limitations according to their requirements, but the primary focus would be on SOP implementation.

The official also said that they have advised federal and administrative units to take strict action in case of non-compliance with SOPs. Government is not in favour of lockdown as currently less than 900 patients are hospitalised across the country as compared to over 5,000 hospitalisations during the last wave of Covid-19. He also added that over 4,000 cases are being reported daily, but the fewer number of hospitalisations shows that many people have been vaccinated due to which patients have mild symptoms.

The official urged the public to get vaccinated and recommended those who had already been vaccinated receive booster shots because the vaccine is the best defence against Covid-19 and protected patients from problems in the event of infection.