Smart lockdowns return

Positivity ratio hits 6%; Sindh reports no fatality for the first time

ISLAMABAD:

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) showed serious concern over a sharp uptick in the national Covid-19 positivity ratio, which hovered around 5-6% this week, as the single-day tally of new cases stayed above 2,000 for third consecutive day on Saturday.

The number of Covid cases has seen increases in the recent weeks, which the NCOC chairman Asad Umar described as the third wave of the pandemic. In a recent interview, Umar said attributed the increase to the UK strain of the contagion.

A special NCOC morning session, chaired by Umar, took stock of the rising trend and directed all the federating units to take immediate action for strict implementation of the standard operating procedures (SOPs). The forum lauded the steps taken by Punjab for the disease control. The forum noted that the rising disease trend was a matter of serious concern where the major contributors were Punjab, Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) and few cities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). Further steps to control the disease, including expanded lockdowns in various cities of Punjab and Islamabad and certain cities of K-P were also discussed.

The forum also discussed spread of new virus strains in the country. The forum also considered further restrictions on international travel from certain countries with high prevalence of South African and Brazilian virus. The forum said the decision would be taken after consultation with all stakeholders. “SOPs implementation week will be implemented across the country from today onwards,” the NCOC underscored. It said the citizen were requested to once again display good example of social behaviour and follow Covid related SOPs for collective wellbeing.

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The forum mentioned that vaccination drive for elderly population was going on since March 10. “Senior Citizen are encouraged to get themselves vaccinated from designated vaccination centres,” it added. The forum requested the provinces to ensure smooth continuation of vaccination drive. Separately, Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Faisal Sultan urged the public to strictly adhere to Covid-19 SOPs). “Covid-19 is deadly virus but we can control it just as we controlled it by following the SOPs during the previous two waves,” he said.

“We must wear a mask when going out as it reduces transmission of infection by 70 to 90%. Proper hand washing with soap is very beneficial and so is the social distancing. If we continue to practice all SOPs, I assure you that we will counter the Covid-19 successfully,” he added. Coronavirus first emerged in the country in February, 2020. The first wave of the disease started ebbing in July after witnessing a peak of more than 5,000 cases in a day in June.

The single-day tally showed a rising trend again towards the end of 2020, dubbed by experts as the second wave. In February the number of cases had come down to over 1,000. In the first 10 days of March the single-day tally of new cases hovered above 1,500. However, for the past three days, the tally stayed above 2,000. The last time the tally crosses 2,000 mark was on January 29, when the NCOC reported 2,186 new cases in a single day.

The NCOC had reported 2,338 new cases on Saturday, adding that 46 virus patients succumbed to the deadly contagion. The situation was particularly alarming in the sense that the last 100,000 cases were registered in a twomonth period, according to the official data. The caseload crossed the 600,000 infections mark on Friday. Sensing an alarming situation, the NCOC reintroduced several coronavirus-induced restrictions on Wednesday, including closure of educational institutions in seven districts of Punjab as well as the federal capital and other measures. On Saturday, the authorities concerned introduced smart lockdown in several areas of Lahore, Rawalpindi, Peshawar and many other cities across the country. However, contrary to the national trend, the situation in Sindh – the worst affected province, with caseload of more than 260,000 cases – is improving. It was first time in nearly a year on Saturday there was no Covid-related death, according to the data issued by the provincial government. (WITH INPUT FROM NEWS DESK)