Daily infections surpass 1,000 mark
Planning Minister Asad Umar on Thursday said the option of lockdown was not being considered presently despite the Omicron-driven fifth wave of the coronavirus causing daily infections to go past the 1,000 mark for the first time in nearly three months.
“At this time there is no plan of [imposing] lockdowns. We are looking at [Covid] numbers very closely as we shared today what has happened in the rest of the world and what is starting to happen in Pakistan,” Umar told a news channel.
Instead, he said, the immediate focus was on scaling up the pace of vaccinations and enforcing the previously placed restrictions on those who refuse to get vaccinated.
Separately, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah stressed the need for precautionary measures against the virus, revealing that 268 cases of the Omicron cases had been detected in the provincial capital, Karachi, so far.
In a statement issued by the Chief Minister’s Office, Murad said 95 of the 268 Omicron cases were detected among 133 samples tested between December 28, 2021 and January 2, 2022.
“This shows the prevalence of Omicron in the city,” he said, adding that the local transmission of the variant was also taking place. Murad said some of the Omicron cases detected in the city had a travel history, while the rest were locally transmitted.
“Prevention is necessary for protection against this new wave [of Covid-19],” the chief minister stressed. However, the authorities had not considered tightening Covid-19 restrictions yet, he said in another statement issued later in the day.
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.
“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.
