Covid revisiting Lahore

The Omicron variant of coronavirus is again spreading in Lahore, with three deaths confirmed in past 24 hours and the diagnostic test positivity rate rising to 6.8 per cent.

At least 157 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed across Punjab, of which 124 were reported in Lahore.

Punjab Health Secretary Ali Jan Khan sad the government had started a new round vaccination at doorsteps of the people I view of the situation. "We only can rely on vaccination to avoid this disease. Therefore, we have started the fourth phase of door-to-door vaccination in Punjab,'" he said.

According to medical experts, the risk of the coronavirus variant has increased due to disregard for the precautionary standard operating procedures (SOPs).

The city lost three lives to the epidemic in a day after a long time, while the positivity rate of 6.8% was the highest in the past month.

The number of coronavirus cases reported in the city has speedily increased during past three days, with 108 patients registered on Sunday and 131 on Saturday.

The highest number of cases, positivity rate and death toll during the ongoing wave of the epidemic were recorded on Monday.

"No new variant of coronavirus has been detected among the fresh patients of coronavirus. It is the Omicron variant of the virus that is spreading again due to the violation of the SOPs," a senior official of Punjab health department told The Express Tribune.

He said the disease was spreading in the big cities, including Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan, Faisalabad, Gujranwala and Bahawalpur, mainly because of the citizens ignoring the SOPs.

"We may face a tough situation in the coming days if the government does not take steps to counter the situation. An alarming fact is that the Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department's officials are not taking the threat seriously," the official warned. He stressed the need for launching a public awareness campaign about the virus and the SOPs devised to protect the people from it.

He said a fresh wave of coronavirus was also spreading in some other countries whose governments were taking steps to cope with the situation but in Punjab the authorities were responding casually to the risk.

"There is a need to brief the people about the importance of the SOPs," the official added.

Replying to a question, health department spokesperson Sayed Hamad Raza said, "Health department is aware of the current situation and we have already alerted our hospitals and also reviewed our arrangements. We countered all previous waves through our planning and work and we are also ready for the coming days."

He confirmed that the Omicron variant of coronavirus had been detected in patients and said best facilities were given to the patients in the wards. "However, the people should cooperate by wearing masks and ensuring social distance," the spokesman added.

Since the outbreak, at least 510,398 people in Punjab have contracted coronavirus, of whom 495,208 recovered. Total 13,585 people have died in Punjab due to the virus.

The provincial health department has conducted over 11.56 million tests of suspected patients of the disease so far.

Whilst people have been focused on the devastating monsoon rains, the Covid-19 positivity rate is rapidly surging across the country. According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), Karachi recorded the highest positivity ratio of almost 39% followed by Islamabad where the rate is more than 7%.

Earlier, the NCOC also advised all provinces and regions to prioritise administering booster shots. Therefore, people who have received full vaccination should get a booster shot and those who have already gotten one booster dose should get a second booster shot. Both the authorities and the public must take timely steps to control the virus and reduce hospitalisations and death rates.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 19^th, 2022.