ISLAMABAD: Dr. Faisal Sultan, the de facto health chief of Pakistan, said on Thursday there was no evidence that a new strain of the coronavirus that had emerged in the United Kingdom had reached Pakistan.
Countries across the globe, including Pakistan, shut their borders to Britain on Monday due to fears about a highly infectious new coronavirus strain, causing travel chaos and raising the prospect of food shortages days before Britain is set to leave the European Union.
“We don’t have any scientific evidence available to us if the new strain from the United Kingdom has reached Pakistan,” Sultan told an online seminar organized by the Pakistan Society for Awareness and Community Empowerment (PACE). “But we are trying to find out if any new strain of coronavirus from UK or any other place has managed to reach here.”
“Even British authorities don’t have any strong evidence if the virus has become more infectious,” he added.
The World Health Organization also cautioned against major alarm over the new variant of the virus, saying this was a normal part of a pandemic’s evolution.
Citing data from Britain, WHO officials said they had no evidence that the variant made people sicker or was more deadly than existing strains of COVID-19, although it did seem to spread more easily.
Regarding vaccine availability in Pakistan, Sultan said the first deployment of the vaccine would start in the first quarter of the next year, saying efforts were underway to start vaccinating half a million frontline workers by the end of February to March 2021.
“We have three to four options available regarding vaccines but we are trying to acquire more than one vaccine for our people,” the health chief said. For the general population of Pakistan, between the ages of 18-60 years, a vaccine would likely be available in the second or third quarter of 2021, Sultan said.
“We are looking at European, Chinese and even Russian vaccine options but it would be a mix and match for us and we would acquire it from more than one source for our people,” the health chief said.
On Thursday, Pakistan reported 111 new deaths due to the novel coronavirus in the last 24 hours, the highest tally since the last week of June.
According to the ministry of health’s COVID-19 portal, Pakistan recorded 2,256 new infections in the last 24 hours, raising the total number of cases to 465,070, with 9,668 deaths.
No evidence new coronavirus strain from UK has reached Pakistan — health chief
https://arab.news/8b3za
No evidence new coronavirus strain from UK has reached Pakistan — health chief
- Dr. Sultan says first deployment of COVD-19 vaccine would start in the first quarter of the next year
- Pakistan records highest single-day COVID-19 fatalities in nearly six months with 111 deaths
Pakistan bowl first against Netherlands in T20 World Cup opener
- The Pakistan government has instructed its national team to boycott its Feb. 15 Group A game against co-host India
- The ICC has requested the Pakistan Cricket Board to reconsider the decision otherwise it will forfeit the marquee game
COLOMBO: Pakistan, at the center of a boycott controversy that has overshadowed the lead up to the T20 World Cup, has won the toss and elected to field against the Netherlands in the tournament’s opening game on Saturday.
The Pakistan government has instructed its national team to boycott its Feb. 15 Group A game against co-host India, a decision that shook the cricket world only six days ago.
The ICC has since requested the Pakistan Cricket Board to reconsider the decision otherwise it will forfeit the marquee game of the tournament.
If Pakistan goes ahead with its boycott against India, it can ill afford to lose points in its three other Group A games — a group that also features the US and Namibia.
A grassy wicket at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo, hosting its first T20 in 16 years, surprised Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha.
“First time I’ve seen this much grass in Sri Lanka,” Agha said at the toss. “We’re playing three pacers and allrounders. Netherlands are a good side, but we want to execute our plans.”
The Netherlands has a history of surprising stronger opposition in T20 World Cups, including beating South Africa in 2022 in Australia which cleared the way for Pakistan to qualify for the semifinals.
Captain Scott Edwards said his team had got used to the conditions after spending more than a month in India and Sri Lanka.
“For us, it’s a big game, so are the other three,” Edwards said.
LATER SATURDAY
In the two other games on Saturday, Scotland, which replaced Bangladesh in Group C, will meet two-time champion West Indies in Kolkata while co-host and defending champion India plays against the US at Mumbai in a Group A match.
LINEUPS
Netherlands: Michael Levitt, Max O’Dowd, Bas de Leede, Colin Ackermann, Scott Edwards (captain), Zach Lion-Cachet, Logan van Beek, Roelof van der Merwe, Aryan Dutt, Kyle Klein, Paul van Meekeren.
Pakistan: Saim Ayub, Sahibzada Farhan, Salman Ali Agha (captain), Babar Azam, Usman Khan, Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Salman Mirza, Abrar Ahmed.
