Third coronavirus wave has begun: Asad Umar

ISLAMABAD: Chief of the National Command and Operations Centre Asad Umar has issued a grim warning i.e. the third coronavirus wave has begun in Pakistan.

Speaking to the media on Thursday, the planning minister said: "Yes, absolutely. There is no doubt that the third wave has begun. Basically, the phenomena driving it is the spread of the UK strain."

Umar said that the districts where there was a higher positivity ratio had a high number of Pakistanis living in the UK. "We had genome sequencing done from the NIH (National Institute of Health) and the dominant strain is the UK strain," said the minister.

He said the UK strain was already known to transmit more easily and spreads faster, compared to the original Wuhan strain. "And now with a new report, we have also found that the mortality rate is higher," he added.

Umar said that since Pakistan's first death in March last year and until now in 2021, "our fatality rate saw a clear and sustained increase and we had speculated that it may be linked to this strain but now the international report establishes it. So this is a very dangerous situation that is developing."

The minister said that in the region in general as well, there was a rapid spread that was being witnessed. Umar said sampling done to determine the proportion of cases that can be attributed to the new strain showed that more than half of the cases are of the UK variant, while in certain cities, the number goes as high as two-thirds of all cases.

Pakistan crossed the 600,000 mark on Friday after 2,701 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours. The daily data issued by the NCOC showed that Pakistan reported 2,701 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the countrywide tally of positive cases to 600,198. A breakdown of the data showed that out of the 600,198 cases, 10,816 were reported in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, 19,171 in Balochistan, 4,959 in Gilgit Baltistan, 46,963 in Islamabad, 75,052 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 182,576 in Punjab and 260,661 in Sindh.

The rise in the number of cases is alarming for policymakers since it was only a month ago when Pakistan had crossed the 500,000 mark. On the other hand, the total active coronavirus cases stand at 18,703, while 568,065 people have recovered in Pakistan.

As for mortalities, the NCOC said that 54 new deaths were also recorded in Pakistan in the last 24 hours, taking the nationwide tally of coronavirus-related deaths to 13,430. Out of the total, Sindh has reported 4,452 deaths, Punjab has reported 5,698, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has reported 2,138, Islamabad has 520 deaths, Balochistan has 202, Gilgit Baltistan has 103 deaths and Azad Jammu and Kashmir has 317 deaths.

Meanwhile, all parts of Pakistan — particularly major cities of Punjab — are undoubtedly in the grip of a new wave of coronavirus. This wave will viciously engulf the entire country in case of poor compliance of SOPs outlined for protection, the PM’s Special Assistant on Health, Dr. Faisal Sultan, stated in a video message shared with the media here on Friday.The SAPM said the world is witnessing the emergence of multiple strains of Covid-19. “The new variants of the virus are believed to spread rather rapidly. Moreover, apprehensions are also being expressed about some of the variants being way more lethal,” Dr. Faisal said.

Dr. Faisal feared that the situation could negatively impact Pakistan’s health system, given the considerable increase in the number of new cases of Covid-19. “Occupancy of hospital beds is rising. It is, therefore, important that we strictly practice all precautions, including social distancing and wearing of face masks, among others,” Dr. Faisal said, appealing to the nation to give serious thought to their own safety, as well as the safety of their loved ones.