Pakistan’s Covid-19 positivity rate on Tuesday dropped to 0.94 per cent, according to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC). The recorded positivity rate is the lowest since March 2020, Geo News has reported. During the last 24 hours, 42,373 tests were conducted across the country of which 400 returned positive.
The country has administered at least 113,188,078 doses of COVID vaccines so far.
Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Asad Umar took to Twitter to announce that Pakistan recorded the lowest Covid positivity ratio since the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) started measuring the statistics of the pandemic.
“Alhamdulillah, we now have [the] lowest positivity ratio since we started measuring covid. Also, have [the] lowest patients on critical care & [the] lowest daily mortality in a year. [The] positive impact of vaccination showing but vaccination drive must continue.”
According to the latest statistics given by NCOC, the current positivity ratio of the virus is 1.34 per cent.
The health authorities announced that another variant of the deadly Covid virus has reached Pakistan, reports Dawn.
Talking to the media outlet, Member Scientific Task Force on Covid-19 Dr Javed Akram said a fatal variant of the virus called ‘Epsilon’ had been detected in the country.
He confirmed that around 40 patients had contracted the variant so far, however, the figure is not accurate.
“This variant had originated in California, which was why it was called the California strain or B.1.429,” Dr Akram added.
“We need to understand that the virus has been controlled but not eradicated, therefore, there are chances of it bouncing back,” said Dr Akram.
Talking about the vaccines’ efficiency, Dr Akram, who is also the vice-chancellor of the University of Health Sciences (UHS), stated, “The positive side is that all vaccines are effective against Epsilon, therefore people should get immunised and adhere to the standard operating procedures.”
The Japanese government provided equipment worth 6.59 million dollars to Islamabad through the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for enhancing Pakistan’s capacity for Covid vaccine storage.
According to the statistics shared by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), 662 covid cases were recorded in the last 24 hours and the current positivity rate is 1.40 per cent.
The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has issued coronavirus guideline for Rabiul Awal celebrations across the country. It is mandatory for religious scholars and naat khuwans to be fully immunised against Covid.
At a meeting led by Asad Umar, it was decided that only licensed and government-approved rallies will be allowed.
Here are other SOPs issued by the NCOC:
Earlier, the Sindh government imposed a ban on pillion riding on Eid Milad-un-Nabi, the 12th of Rabiul Awal. It will be celebrated on October 19.
Women, children below 12 years of age, senior citizens, journalists, disabled persons, law enforcers, and employees of essential services have been exempted from the ban.
After former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s fake coronavirus vaccination entry, a fake Covid vaccination entry was made under his late wife Kulsoom Nawaz’s name, reports Geo News.
As per details, Begum Kulsoom Nawaz got her first dose of Sinovac on October 5. The second dose is scheduled for November 6.
Begum Kulsoom Nawaz passed away in September 2018 due to cancer.
Another fake Covid vaccination entry was also made under former Finance Minister Ishaq Dar’s name as well. Dar is currently in London.
He was registered in Multan Health Unit for a single Sinovac dose.
The Primary and Secondary Health Care Department Punjab has constituted a two-member committee to investigate the matter within the next 24 hours.
Actor Kubra Khan has tested positive for Covid-19 after basking in the glory of fan’s appreciation for her performance as Mashal in Farooq Rind’s Hum Kahan Ke Sachay Thay.
The Daldal star took to Instagram to share the news, “We as human beings have the funniest scales to measure what’s a big or a small deal,” she wrote. “We are waltzing around this world given temporarily to us, taking everything and everyone for granted. Something as many would say ‘as small as smelling the morning tea’ or ‘breathing in a normal rhythm’…it’s basic, normal isn’t it?”
“I tested positive for Covid-19 a little while ago. And all these ‘small things’ didn’t feel so small anymore. Grateful to Allah (SWT) I am on a road to recovery now. This morning I smelt a hint of my tea and bawled out in tears out of gratitude to Allah. In the past week I had chicken karahi, Nutella cake, chocolate brownies, all my favourites in front of me. I couldn’t taste or even smell any of them. All that we work for weren’t able to lift me up, except for the ‘small thing’ of smelling chai that Allah (SWT) made possible,” she wrote.
“I guess what I’m trying to say is it’s important to strive to live your best life and become the best version of yourselves. I do it myself and it’s normal to complain about ‘the big things’. ‘Paisa, kapra aur makaan‘ [Money, clothes and housing]. I do that too but do not disregard the luxuries we’ve been given by Allah ( SWT). Gratitude changed my life. Realising the ‘small things are the real big deals’ changed my life. So here I am, in a shirt that I haven’t changed in the past three days, makeup-less, filterless and energy-less but Grateful to the max. Allah is Great,” added Kubra.
On the work front, Kubra can be seen currently in Hum TV’s drama Hum Kaha Kay Sachy Thay.
Strict restrictions will be enforced for non-vaccinated individuals from October 1, 2021. National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) announced vaccination certificates will be made “mandatory for domestic travellers from October 1”.
Confirming the news, Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) spokesperson said: “From October 1, only vaccinated passengers will be able to travel on all domestic and international flights of PIA,” reports Geo News.
“Vaccination certificates will be checked at the airport upon receipt of the boarding card,” he said.
People won’t be allowed to use railway and airline services without showing their vaccination cards.
People who do not get vaccinated will not be able to enter wedding halls, shopping malls, hotels and guest houses from tomorrow [October 1].
On the other hand, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan said that pregnant women should also get vaccinated.
He reiterated that children’s vaccination is also necessary to continue educational activities.
Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry has announced that cinema halls and multiplexes will reopen in eight cities of Pakistan from October 1st.
The decision was taken in the meeting chaired by Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special initiatives Asad Umar. It was decided in the meeting that that Covid related restrictions will be eased in the cities that have achieved the targeted vaccination rate. The cities who have targeted vaccination rate includeds, Gilgit, Skardu, Muzaffarabad, Mirpur, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Quetta, and Peshawar.
“We are relaxing restrictions in these eight cities from October 1,” Asad Umar said in a press conference. “The rest of the cities and districts will have to implement on the same restrictions that are currently in place, till October 15,” he added.
The Punjab government has said that wedding invitation cards should mention that only “vaccinated guests” will be allowed to participate in a wedding. A notification by the Punjab Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department on Tuesday says that unvaccinated people will not be permitted to enter wedding halls across the province.
The notification also says that all the staff of the wedding halls would have to display “fully vaccinated” badges while discharging their duties.
The provincial government has also made vaccination a requirement for those seeking various services in the private and governmental sectors. As per the notification, international travelers arriving in Pakistan would have to be fully vaccinated by October 31.
In the last 24 hours, Pakistan has recorded 1,560 new cases of Covid-19.
Prime Minister Imran Khan delivered his address to the 76th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) earlier today. He said, “There is only one way to go. We must strengthen and stabilise the current government, for the sake of the people of Afghanistan.”
“Right now the whole international community should think what is the way ahead. There are two paths that we can take. If we neglect Afghanistan right now, according to the UN half the people of Afghanistan are already vulnerable, and by next year almost 90 per cent of the people in Afghanistan will go below the poverty line.”
“If the world community incentivises them, and encourages them to walk this talk, it will be a win-win situation for everyone. Because these are the four conditions that the US-Taliban dialogue in Doha was all about,” PM Imran Khan said.
“You cannot waste time. Help is needed there. Humanitarian assistance has to be given there immediately. The Secretary-General of the United Nations has taken bold steps. I urge you to mobilise the international community, and move in this direction,” he said.
ON ISLAMAPHOBIA
The premier also discussed Islamophobia and said that the UN Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy has recognised as an emerging threat, as it increases the tendency of right-wing, xenophobic, and violent nationalists, extremists, and terrorist groups to target Muslims.
“We hope the Secretary-General’s report will focus on these new threats of terrorism posed by Islamophobes and right-wing extremists,” the prime minister said.
“I call on the Secretary-General to convene a global dialogue on countering the rise of Islamophobia. Our parallel efforts, at the same time, should be to promote interfaith harmony, and they should continue,” he added.
The prime minister went on to underscore how New Delhi has also embarked “on what it ominously calls the ‘final solution’ for the Jammu and Kashmir dispute”.
“Indian actions violate the resolutions of the UN Security Council on Jammu and Kashmir. The resolutions clearly prescribe that the ‘final disposition’ of the disputed territory should be decided by its people, through a free and impartial plebiscite held under the UN auspices,” the premier added.
PM Imran Khan stated for the record that last February, both countries reaffirmed the 2003 ceasefire understanding along the Line of Control.
“The hope was that it would lead to a rethink of the strategy in New Delhi. Sadly, the BJP government has intensified repression in Kashmir and continues to vitiate the environment by these barbaric acts,” the premier said.
He said the onus remains on India to create a conducive environment for meaningful and result-oriented engagement with Pakistan.
ON KASHMIR
PM Imran Khan highlighted the forcible snatching of the mortal remains of the great Kashmiri leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani, from his family, denying him a proper Islamic funeral and burial, in accordance with his wishes and Muslim traditions, as the most recent example of Indian barbarity.
“Devoid of any legal or moral sanction, this action was even against the basic norms of human decency,” he said, adding: “I call on this General Assembly to demand that Syed Geelani’s mortal remains be allowed to be buried in the Cemetery of Martyrs with the appropriate Islamic rites.”
The prime minister also warned of another conflict between Pakistan in India, which he said is essential to prevent. “India’s military build-up, development of advanced nuclear weapons, and acquisition of destabilising conventional capabilities can erode mutual deterrence between the two countries,” he said.
ON CLIMATE CHANGE
Turning his focus to climate change, he termed it one of the “primary existential threats” that the world faces today.
ON COVID-19
“The world is facing the triple challenge of Covid-19, the accompanying economic crisis and the threats posed by climate change.”