Pakistan on Thursday reported 1,085 new coronavirus cases for the last 24 hours, marking it the first time in nearly three months that daily infections exceeded 1,000.
The country had reported 1,086 cases on October 14, 2021.
According to the National Command and Operation Centre, the positivity rate has risen to 2.32 per cent.
The countrywide breakdown of cases and deaths for 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 deathGilgit-Baltistan did not confirm any new infections or deaths.
The rise in cases is being driven by the highly transmissible Omicron variant of the coronavirus which has brought a fifth wave of the disease to the country.
Warning of the possibility that the public health system may come under considerable stress, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Faisal Sultan said that provinces had been advised to make arrangements such as ensuring the availability of ample oxygen to deal with any such situation.
Talking to Dawn, Dr Sultan had said that a week ago the positivity rate was less than 1pc but it had 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 around one week, but at the moment it seems like cases will increase,” he had said.
In his opinion, hospitalisation needs would increase and this was why provinces had been advised to make arrangements.
“They have been advised to arrange oxygen and ensure availability of other hospital supplies to deal with any untoward situation,” Sultan had said.
When asked if the rainy weather would have any effect on the transmission of the virus — some believe that in humid conditions the virus is unable to survive in the air for a long time — Dr Sultan said that Covid-19 had proven all theories wrong.
The SAPM said their data had indicated that Omicron was only causing mild symptoms in vaccinated people, especially the elderly. He also pointed out that women had benefitted more from vaccine as compared to men and encouraged every woman to get vaccinated.
However, he warned that: “We cannot say that Omicron symptoms will be mild for everyone and all such speculation is premature.”
Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar had also warned about the rise in the number of Omicron cases and urged the public to take precautions.
Addressing a news conference on Wednesday, Umar said that 60pc of Omicron cases were being reported from Karachi and Lahore, while the country’s financial hub had witnessed a 940pc increase in cases in just two weeks, while Punjab had reported a 185pc increase in cases over just 10 days.
Giving the example of the US, UK and South Africa, where Omicron cases had resulted in a significant increase in hospitalisation rates, he said that people should get vaccinated to reduce the possible impact of Omicron.
City-wise situation
The Sindh health department said that Karachi’s positivity had increased to 9.23pc in the last 24 hours with 416 cases reported.
It added that over 200 Omicron cases were confirmed and genomic sequencing of additional suspected cases was underway.
City health officials previously indicated taking strict measures including bringing more localities under smart lockdowns to curb the spread of the virus. The situation had compelled the Pakistan Medical Association to ask the federal and provincial governments to gear up anti-Covid vaccination efforts and legislate on coronavirus-related standard operating procedures that would help enforcement of preventive measures.
“At this stage, our priority is to gear up anti-Covid-19 vaccination measures including renewed restrictions on unvaccinated people and enforce implementation of SOPs related to coronavirus,” a health department spokesperson had said when asked about the government’s plans to tackle the growing number of cases.
Meanwhile, the variant is also spreading in Lahore, largely in posh localities because of the international travel factor, according to health officials. In their view, the Punjab government is ‘relaxing’ as no precautionary measures are being taken to stop the new variant’s transmission.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also recorded its first five Omicron cases on Wednesday.
“As expected, this was only a matter of time. Our hospital system has coped with four surges and will continue to be ready. Our best defence is to vaccinate as per National Command and Operation Centre guidelines,” Health Minister Taimur Salim Jhagra tweeted on the matter.
Khyber Medical University Vice-chancellor Prof Ziaul Haq confirmed the patients as belonging to Peshawar. He had said that there was no travel history of the patients which thus showed that local community transmission had already begun and strict adherence to standard operating procedures was needed.
