Govt to bring NCOC back to life amid Covid threat

In a bid to nip the latest Omicron sub-variant in the bud, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday ordered immediate restoration of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) after Pakistan reported the first case of Omicron sub-variant BA.2.12.1

The NCOC, the country’s never centre of the strategy to handle the Covid-19 pandemic, was dissolved last month after all the pandemic indicators touched an all-time low. The forum was formed in April 2020 by the PTI government to collate, analyse, and process information received from across the country.

According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister's House, PM Shehbaz took notice of the new variant of Omicron and its growing cases. "He has also sought a report from the National Institute of Health (NIH) over the current Covid-19 situation," it said.

The development was prompted by the country’s first reported case of the latest sub-variant of Omicron, BA.2.1.2.1 a day earlier.  The new sub-variant is responsible for a new wave of Covid-19 infections across the globe.

In a tweet, the National Institute of Health (NIH) confirmed the presence of the new sub-variant in Pakistan as it urged people to follow social distancing protocols and get jabs against coronavirus.

Pakistan’s response to the pandemic had been lauded internationally and was considered to be one of the countries that tackled the virus well enough to keep the outbreak from getting worse.

Earlier in March, a report by the United Nations Development Programme placed Pakistan among the countries that have done fairly well in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. It noted that on March 23, 2022, the cost of vaccinating 40 per cent of the population in Pakistan was 13.95pc of the country’s current health expenditure.

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‘Situation under control’

Meanwhile, federal health minister, Abdul Qadir Patel, chaired a meeting at Public Health Emergency Operations Centre (PHEOC) at the National Institute of Health to oversee the current Covid-19 situation after the emergence of the latest sub-variant.

The special session, summoned on the directive of PM Shehbaz, was attended by all the provincial and federal chief secretaries of health, secretary of health and director general of health.

During the meeting, the federal minister underscored that although the situation was under control at the moment, there was a need to stay vigilant and keep a close eye on the emerging new variants.
Giving an overview of the situation in the country, the national coordinator of the PHEOC Maj Gen

Aamer Ikram informed only one case had been detected. The centre was closely monitoring the spread, he added.
Similarly, secretary health Amir Khawaja provided details of the daily process related to data reporting and documentation.

Provincial health leadership also briefed the minister on the vaccination progress.

The meeting discussed precautionary measures including Non-pharmaceutical Interventions (NPIs) to curb the spread of the virus.