Follow SOPs or risk return of virus curbs, warns Asad

Ag Agencies

ISLAMABAD: Planning minister Asad Umar warned on Thursday that the government may be compelled to re-impose virus restrictions if people fail to take official guidelines seriously and termed the rising test positivity rate and 11-death average in the first four days of this week “unmistakable signs” of a resurgence.

In a series of tweets, the minister, who also chairs meetings of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) which steers the government’s response to Covid-19, said Wednesday’s national positivity of Covid cases was 2.37 per cent — “the highest positivity in more than 50 days”. He added that the last time this level was seen was on August 23.

The average rate of deaths in the first four days of this week remained in the double digits. “The first four days of this week Covid deaths’ average is 11 per day. Highest since week of Aug 10. Unmistakable signs of rise of corona.”

The tweet warning came as the NCOC’s latest situation update said 13 more people died of Covid-19 in a 24-hour period, 11 of whom were in hospital. Pakistan’s active infections jumped to 9,209 after 756 more people tested positive in the 24 hours leading to Thursday — the greatest number of cases in a day since September 23.

The minister said Covid positivity is “extremely high” in Muzaffarabad, “remains high” in Karachi, and “rising” in Lahore and Islamabad. “Time for all of us to take Covid SOP’s seriously again. Otherwise, unfortunately we may have to take restrictive actions which have negative effects on people’s livelihoods,” he added.

Two Punjab cabinet members tested positive for the virus. Punjab Minister for Industries, Commerce and Investment Mian Aslam Iqbal tested positive for the virus. As per media reports, the provincial minister got tested after feeling unwell. Iqbal was said to be self isolating. Punjab Minister for Agriculture Hussain Jahanian Gardezi also tested positive for the coronavirus, his spokesperson said. He, too, was self isolating.

As of Thursday, some 796 coronavirus patients were admitted in hospitals across the country, 77 of whom were on ventilator. About 31,862 tests were conducted across the country — 9,234 in Sindh, 11,601 in Punjab, 4,337 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 4,832 in Islamabad, 859 in Balochistan, 270 in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), and 729 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

Since the outbreak began, a total of 321,218 cases were detected so far — AJK 3,258, Balochistan 15,599, GB 3,982, Islamabad 17,681, KP 38,464, Punjab 101,237 and Sindh 140,997. The death toll is 6,614 — 2,566 in Sindh, 2,277 in Punjab, 1,264 in KP, 191 in Islamabad, 146 in Balochistan, 90 in GB and 80 in the AJK.