Govt bolsters defences against Covid strain

Screening at airports to continue; NIH to propose guidelines for educational institutions, social gatherings

ISLAMABAD:

The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) decided on Monday to continue screening of passengers coming from abroad at the airports and borders in order to minimise the risk of spread of BF7 Omicron variant of coronavirus in the country.

Chairing a review meeting on the virus situation, NDMA Chairman Lt-Gen Inam Haider Malik instructed the National Institute of Health (NIH) to issue necessary guidelines for the educational institutions, social gatherings and communities.

The review session held with the teams of NIH and Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on the prevailing Covid-19 situation and surveillance mechanisms at airports in the wake of the threat posed by the new BF7 Omicron variant. On the occasion, the NIH presented statistics on Covid-19 vaccination administration.

It was decided that Rapid Antigen Test (RATs) and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test of inbound passengers were being conducted at all airports of the country as per the policy. Besides, the officials said, vaccination and screening tests of pedestrians were also being conducted at Torkham border on a daily basis.

The NDMA chief expressed confidence in the anti-Covid strategies and national preparedness regime. He instructed the NIH to issue precautionary advisories for educational institutes, social gatherings, and communities and conduct weekly media briefings to sensitise the public and stakeholders.

Separately, Health Minister Qadir Patel said that the government had strengthened the role of border and health services in Pakistan to deal with the threat of any sub-variant of Covid-19. Stressing that the situation was “completely under control”, he asked the people not to pay any heed to rumours.

Patel emphasised that the prevailing Covid passivity ratio in the country was just 0.3 to 0.5%, while 90% population had already got the Covid vaccine. “An efficient system with a proper management team is fully functional and is ready to make any emergency plan to deal with any sub-variant of Covid,” he added.

“In case of any untoward situation, the health system is fully prepared to deal with any sub-variant of the Omicron variant, including BF7,” the minister continued. “The Border and Health Services, Pakistan, is ensuring the implementation of international health regulations.”

Meanwhile, NIH officials said that 3,062 Covid tests were conducted during the last 24 hours in which 12 new cases were detected. They added that the positivity ratio was 0.39%, while 11 patients were in critical condition. Most of the cases, 6, were confirmed in Lahore, the officials said.