NCOC warns Omicron spreading fast

Planning Minister Asad Umar warned on Wednesday that the Omicron variant of the coronavirus was spreading rapidly in Pakistan and feared that it would spread even more quickly in days to come.

The warning came as the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) – the government’s synchronised strategy to control the pandemic – reported nearly 900 new Covid cases in the last 24 hours, the highest single-day tally of new cases in nearly three months.

Umar, the NCOC chief, told a media briefing along with Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan, that vaccination and following the Covid-induced standard operating procedures (SOPs) were the only way to avoid the spread of the new variant.

“As per information, the areas where vaccination ratio is high, the impact of the new variant is far lower than the places where the vaccination ratio is low,” Umar told the joint media briefing along with Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan.

The minister said that hospitalisation of patients had increased manifold in South Africa, the UK, and the US after spread of Omicron. In South Africa, the number of Omicron cases shot by 3,500% from 116 to 25,000 within four weeks, he said, adding hospitalisation also increased there by 700%.

Similarly, he added, the number of Omicron cases in the US and the UK increased by 400% and 292% respectively in four weeks while that of hospitalisation increased by 92% and 132% respectively in the same period.

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In Pakistan, the NCOC chief said that 60% of the cases were reported from two major cities – Karachi and Lahore. "During the last two weeks, the surged by 984% in Karachi alone," he said, adding: “The spread ratio in Punjab is recorded at 190% in one week.”

“This is just the beginning in Pakistan that will spread more quickly in the coming days. I urge all the people to vaccinate themselves as soon as possible if they have not vaccinated yet. Especially, the elderly and women must inoculate themselves,” he said.

Responding to a question, the minister dispelled the impression that the Omicron was not as fatal as the other variants of Covid. He added that the most important was that how far the vaccination played role in mitigating the effects of this virus.

Meanwhile, the NCOC said in its daily update that 898 new coronavirus cases were reported in the last 24 hours, the highest tally since October 14, 2021, when 1,086 infections were detected. The national positivity ratio during the last 24 hours was 1.8%.

This brings the national caseload of the disease since its outbreak in February 2020 to 1,298,763. The government’s Covid-19 portal also showed that 245 more people recovered from the coronavirus, taking the country’s total recoveries to 1,257,600.