Asad Umar cautions against risk of coronavirus spread in winter

Minister shares image of a survey, stating 86% Pakistanis believe Covid will be successfully controlled in near future

Minister for Planning and Special Initiatives Asad Umar, who also heads the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), warned on Friday that there is a risk of the spread of novel coronavirus during winter in Pakistan if people do not get vaccinated.

Pakistan registered below 1,100 cases during the past 24 hours, far below the peak a few months ago during the third wave of the deadly virus.

According to the NCOC, the pandemic killed 27 people, increasing the overall death toll to 28,228, including 2,131 critical patients.

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It further said that the country administered 93,551,193 doses of vaccines and fully vaccinated 34,809,848 people. The country has also lifted most of the coronavirus-related restrictions.

Umar also shared an image of the Gallup & Gilani Pakistan survey, stating that 86 per cent of Pakistanis believed that Covid-19 will be successfully controlled in the near future. However, he also advised a word of caution amidst the optimism.

"According to the survey, 86% Pakistanis believed that coronavirus will be successfully controlled in the near future. We are deeply grateful for this trust by the masses but it will only be possible if people get vaccinated," he wrote on his official Twitter handle.

سروے کے مطابق 86٪ عوام سمجھتے ہیں کہ کرونا پر جلد قابو پا لیا جائے گا. عوام کے اس اعتماد پر تہہ دل سے مشکور ہیں، لیکن یہ جب ممکن ہو گا اگر لوگ جلد از جلد ویکسین لگوائیں گے. ورنہ سردی کے ساتھ کرونا کے پھیلاؤ میں اضافے کا خطرہ ہے https://t.co/Q9VavvhUwK

— Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) October 15, 2021

He warned that there is a risk of the spread of the deadly virus during the winter season if people do not get inoculated.

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A nationally representative sample of adult men and women from across the four provinces was asked the following question, “Do you believe that Covid-19 will be successfully controlled in the near future?” In response to this question, 86% said yes while 14% said no.

The survey stated that slightly more Pakistanis from urban areas (88%) compared to those belonging from rural areas (85%) believed that Covid-19 is likely to be successfully controlled in the future.

The study was released by the Gilani Research Foundation and carried out by Gallup & Gilani Pakistan, the Pakistani affiliate of Gallup International.

The recent survey was carried out among a sample of 1,727 men and women in urban and rural areas of all four provinces of the country, from August 13 to September 5, 2021.