ISLAMABAD: The COVID-19 infections have once again been on the rise in Pakistan as the country reported 3.91 percent virus positivity rate on Saturday, the National Institute of Health (NIH) said.
In late March, Pakistan disbanded the National Command and Operations Center (NCOC), which was overseeing the COVID-19 response in the country, as infection numbers were at the lowest since the start of the outbreak early in 2020.
The South Asian country on May 23 reconstituted the NCOC at the NIH after health officials detected a new omicron sub-variant in a passenger arriving from Qatar. The new sub-variant of omicron is said to be highly infectious, though not as deadly as previous coronavirus strains.
In the last 24 hours, health authorities conducted 13,644 tests for the virus, of which 435 came out to be positive, according to NIH figures. It constituted a 3.19 percent virus positivity ratio.
Earlier this week, Pakistan’s Health Minister Abdul Qadir Patel presided over a meeting of the NCOC that advised all provinces and regions to administer booster doses on priority to improve protection against the virus transmission.
“In view of the global pandemic situation, the Central Health Establishment (CHE) should strictly monitor the health status of incoming passengers at points of entry,” Patel was quoted as saying in a statement. “The CHE will be strengthened to enhance the functionality,” he added.
The health minister stressed the need to adopt timely precautions, including social distancing and mask compliance, to avoid further spread of the virus, especially in the lead up to Eid Al-Adha.
