Centre mulls tougher rules as hospitals overwhelmed by virus spike

| Asad Umar says third wave of Covid-19 spreading at a very fast speed with infections rising rapidly | With 67 single-day deaths, Pakistan reports 4,468 new cases

ISLAMABAD   -  Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar on Saturday said that hospitals were nearing full capacity and warned of tougher restrictions if violations of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for Covid-19 continue in the country.

Pakistan on Saturday morning reported more than 4,000 Covid-19 cases for a second straight day with 4,468 new Coronavirus cases and 67 deaths. This marks the highest single-day increase since June 21, 2020, when 4,916 cases were reported, according to the official data. He warned that Covid-19 cases in the country could soon cross the numbers seen during the first wave of the pandemic.

Addressing the media after chairing a session of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the minister said if the cases increase at the current rate during the next few days or week, the situation would be worse than the peak of the first wave which was witnessed in June last year. He said as the hospitals were nearing their full capacity so availability of beds might now become an issue. He said the government’s first priority was to save the livelihood of people from the pandemic; however, he warned that tougher restrictions might be imposed if the current trend continues in the country.

“Our first effort is this but you’re seeing the speed with which this is continuing to spread. If we don’t take immediate measures then such a situation can also develop that we have to increase restrictions,” he made it clear.

He told the media that during a review of the SOPs and measures to curb the spread of the disease, by the NCOC, it was found that SOPs are not being followed as they should have been. 

The country is experiencing its third Covid-19 wave fuelled by the UK variant of the virus. The Covid-19 situation is becoming very dangerous, said the head of the NCOC.

He requested the political leadership to spread the message that Pakistan once again needs to combat the disease and defend people. He said the people of the country have already shown that they could successfully combat the pandemic. He urged all sections of the society to play their role in following SOPs.

It is to be mentioned here that Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Punjab have in recent days reported a sharp rise in the number of Covid-19 cases.

The minister said the reason behind sharing all this is not to create fear but to alert the nation so it can decisively act together and follow a plan of action to confront the challenge posed by Covid-19. He said the British variant of the Coronavirus was thought to be responsible for sudden rise in the cases since its detection in Pakistan.

Pakistan on Saturday morning reported more than 4,000 cases for a second straight day with 4,468 new Coronavirus cases and 67 deaths. This marks the highest single-day increase since June 21, 2020, according to the official data when 4,916 cases were reported.

According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), during the past 24 hours, Punjab reported 2,330 Covid-19 cases, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 953 cases, Islamabad 709 cases, Sindh 293 cases, Azad Jammu and Kashmir 150 cases, Balochistan 26 cases and Gilgit-Baltistan reported 7 such cases. 

Punjab recorded 2,330 new cases of the Coronavirus and 48 more deaths in the last 24 hours which took the provincial tally of cases to 210,095 and the death toll to 6,190. KP recorded 953 Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the provincial caseload to 83,630. KP also recorded 14 more fatalities, taking its death toll to 2,274. Balochistan reported 26 new infections, taking the provincial tally to 19,453. 

Meanwhile, 2,842 virus patients are in critical condition in the country. During the past 24 hours, Islamabad and AJK reported 2 deaths each.