Pakistan’s Covid-19 deaths lowest in region: Asad Umar

Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar on Saturday said that with 102, the rate of Covid-19 deaths per million in Pakistan remained the lowest in the region due to timely decisions of the government.

In a tweet, the minster, who also heads the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), said that in Iran some 1,037 people died out of one million population while in Nepal the number was 326, India 301, Sri Lanka 186, Afghanistan 160, and Bangladesh 113.

“Timely decisions, hard work, [and] cooperation of people and blessings of Allah made this possible.”

However, he warned that risk was not over yet therefore the people should follow Standard Operation Procedures (SOPs) and also vaccinate themselves against the disease.

Earlier, the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) announced that the Covid-19 certificate would be mandatory for domestic air travel from August 1.

Read more: Covid-19 vaccination certificate required for domestic air travel from Aug 1

The country's nerve centre for Covid response added that people should get themselves vaccinated by July 31 in order to avoid any 'hassle'.

Pakistan reported 1,841 new coronavirus cases during the last 24 hours, taking the country's Covid-19 tally to 1,001,875.

The country's death toll climbed to 22,971 after 32 more people succumbed to the deadly disease.

Meanwhile, 1,310 patients recovered from the deadly disease in a day taking total recoveries to 924,782. According to NCOC, total active Covid-19 cases across the country were reported to be 54,122.

In June, Asad Umar had warned that a fourth wave of Covid-19 could possibly occur in July if precautionary SOPs are not adhered to.

"Reviewed the artificial intelligence-based disease modeling analysis today in NCOC," Umar said in a tweet.

Also read: More doses flown in to improve vaccination drive

"In the absence of strong SOP enforcement and continued strong vaccination program, the 4th wave could emerge in Pakistan in July. Please adhere to SOPs and vaccinate as soon as possible," he stressed.

Coronavirus first emerged in the country in February 2020, which started ebbing in July after seeing its peak on June 17, with more than 6,800 cases were recorded in a single day. The cases rose again towards the end of the year, dubbed by experts as the second wave.

The cases surged again in the first week of March, described by Asad Umar as the third wave. For the most part of April, the single-day tally of the disease stayed above 5,000 along with a daily death toll of more than 100.