Effects of fourth corona wave begin to show

ISLAMABAD: The effects of fourth wave of coronavirus in Pakistan have become visible, as cases have started increasing with the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) issuing strict directives for implementation of the SOPs countrywide.

Poor compliance of the SOPs and the deadly Indian variant are the main causes of fourth wave.

The Centre on Sunday took special measures to strictly implement the SOPs in all high-risk sectors and made vaccination certificate mandatory for tourists booking hotels in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Northern Areas.

The Centre took a serious notice of deadly coronavirus strains and violation of SOPs in view of the arrival of Eidul Azha and declared vaccination mandatory for hotel bookings for tourists visiting Gilgit-Baltistan, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The Centre has issued an elaborate procedure for verification of vaccine certificate at the entrances to tourist sites and hotels and issued detailed instructions to all the provinces for strict implementation of the SOPs.

The Centre has also formed teams to wearing of facemasks and implementation of social distancing and safety protocols.

In light of these instructions, the Centre had also issued directives for strict implementation of SOPs related to cattle markets and Eidul Azha to limit the disease spread.

The special directives issued for the managements of restaurants, gyms, cinemas and wedding halls would also help ensure confirmation of vaccination certificates, the Centre said.

Meanwhile, the national tally of active COVID-19 cases was Sunday recorded as 37,499 with 1,980 more people testing positive and 908 recovering during the 24 hours.

Seventy infected persons were admitted to hospitals in critical condition.

A total of 27 corona patients died during 24 hours out of which 26 were under treatment in hospitals and one in his respective home or quarantine facility, according to the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC).

Most of deaths were reported from Sindh followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Out of 27 patients who died in 24 hours, 16 were on the ventilator. There were 2,119 infected patients under treatment in critical condition and 70 of them were admitted to various COVID dedicated healthcare facilities countrywide during the 24 hours.

The national positivity ratio during the 24 hours was recorded 4.09 percent. The maximum ventilators were occupied in four major cities including Islamabad 15 percent, Lahore 17 percent, Bahawalpur 18 percent and Multan 13 percent.

The maximum Oxygen beds (alternative oxygen providing facility other than ventilator administered as per medical requirement of COVID patient) were also occupied in four major cities of Gilgit 36 percent, Skardu 67 percent, Karachi 32 percent and Swabi 38 percent.

Around 211 ventilators were occupied elsewhere in the country, while no affected person was on the ventilator in Balochistan and Gilgit Baltistan (GB).

Around 48,382 tests were conducted across the country on Saturday, including 16,929 in Sindh, 17,062 in Punjab, 10,035 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 1,670 in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), 1,039 in Balochistan, 641 in GB, and 1,006 in AJK.

Around 913,203 people have recovered so far across Pakistan making it a significant count with over 90 percent recovery ratio.

Since the pandemic broke out, a total of 973,284 cases have been detected including the perished, the recovered and under treatment patients so far, including Azad Jammu and Kashmir 21,067, Balochistan 27,961, GB 6,851, ICT 83,647, KP 139,313, Punjab 348,085 and Sindh 346,360.

Around 22,582 deaths have been recorded in the country since the eruption of the contagion.

Around 5,599 people died in Sindh, 10,819 in Punjab, 4,359 in KP, 783 in ICT, 317 in Balochistan, 111 in GB and 594 in AJK.

A total of 15,056,787 tests have been conducted so far, while 639 hospitals are equipped with the COVID facilities across the country. Around 2,390 corona patients were admitted to hospitals.