Tag: covid cases

  • Govt to close the National Command and Operation centre: Dr Faisal Sultan

    Govt to close the National Command and Operation centre: Dr Faisal Sultan

    Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (PM) on National Health Services, Regulations, and Coordination, Dr Faisal Sultan has announced that the government has decided to shut down the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC).

    According to Dr Sultan, PM Khan himself is expected to formally announce the shutting down of NCOC by the end of next month. He said that the responsibilities of the NCOC will be carried out by the National Institute of Health.

    March 27 will mark the 2nd anniversary of the establishment of the NCOC.

    NCOC was established after the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic in Pakistan. The centre is the main entity in charge of Pakistan’s national Covid-19 effort’s policies and implementation.

    In recent months, the rate of Covid cases in Pakistan has gotten low after almost three years of fighting the global pandemic.

  • Five Covid-19 cases reported in three different franchises ahead of PSL 7

    Five Covid-19 cases reported in three different franchises ahead of PSL 7

    Five cases have been reported from as many as three franchises of the Pakistan Super League’s (PSL) seventh edition which is set to start from January 27 in Karachi.

    As per details, two of the officials for the PSL 2022 season have now tested positive for Covid-19 which is not a piece of ideal news for the board.

    According to reports, West Indies batter Shimron Hetmyer, Australian all-rounder James Faulkner and England left-arm seamer Luke Wood have all tested positive for Covid-19 and are placed in isolation. They were expected to arrive in Karachi but their arrival has now been delayed and they will also miss the first game for the Quetta Gladiators against the Peshawar Zalmi.

    The majority of the players and all of the officials are expected to join the bio-bubble in Karachi by tonight, which has been set up by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to conduct Covid-19 tests as the majority of the personnel have been engaged in cricketing activities; this might result in additional Covid-19 positive cases being reported.

    As per Cricket Pakistan, a couple of PCB officials have also fallen prey to the pandemic whereas some players’ families have also reported testing positive for Covid-19.

    All the matches of the upcoming edition of PSL will be held in just the two venues of Lahore and Karachi to reduce the possibility of players contracting the virus through travel. The crowd capacity for the matches has been reduced to 25 percent and this will be a huge responsibility for the PCB to ensure the tournament is conducted according to safety measures.

    Chairman PCB, Ramiz Raja already had measures in place for the Covid-19 scenario and the franchises have agreed to take the field if each of the squad has 13 players available in order to ensure that the matches are not skipped.

  • ‘Omicron shouldn’t be categorised as mild’: WHO

    ‘Omicron shouldn’t be categorised as mild’: WHO

    The infectious virus Omicron is a less severe disease than the globally dominant Delta strain, but should not be categorised as “mild”, WHO Director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus clarified.

    While giving the statement in Geneva, he said that just like previous variants, Omicron is hospitalising and killing people, reports Reuters.

    Janet Diaz, WHO lead on clinical management said that when Omicron was first detected, early studies showed that there was a reduced risk of hospitalisation.

    According to her, the impact on the elderly is one of the big unanswered questions about the new variant as most of the cases studied so far have been in younger people.

    Currently, healthcare systems are overwhelmed, and governments are struggling to deal with the new variant which has killed millions of people worldwide.

    The vaccine process is quite slow in many countries. According to Ghebreyesus, 109 countries will miss the WHO’s target for 70 per cent of the world’s population to be fully vaccinated by July.

    Pakistan recorded 1293 cases on Friday and the positivity rate stands at 2.52 per cent.

  • ‘No lockdown for now,’ says NCOC chief despite rising cases

    ‘No lockdown for now,’ says NCOC chief despite rising cases

    The National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) chief Asad Umar said that the government has no intentions of imposing a coronavirus lockdown for now in the country.

    According to Geo News, Asad highlighted that instead of lockdowns, the government is focusing on ramping up vaccinations and strict implementation of the bans placed earlier on certain activities if one is not vaccinated.

    50 per cent of the cases in Sindh are of Omicron and the statistics show that the city’s positivity ratio reached 9.23 per cent on Wednesday.

    Jinnah Sindh Medical University (JSMU) Acting Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Shahid Rasul said, “Coronavirus cases of the Omicron variant are going up in Karachi because of a lack of vaccinations.”

    Meanwhile, Pakistan’s coronavirus positivity ratio exceeded 2 per cent for the first time since October 14 last year, as 1,085 new infections were detected.

  • NCOC lowers age limit for Covid-19 booster shot to 30

    NCOC lowers age limit for Covid-19 booster shot to 30

    The National Command and Control Centre (NCOC) announced its decision to lower the age limit for the administration of Covid-19 booster shot for people who got both their shots six months back. Pakistanis aged 30 or above can now get a booster shot of their own choice across Pakistan from January 1, 2022.

    Only Sinopharm, Sinovac, and Pfizer will be given as booster shots. The booster shot will be administered free of cost.

    Health workers, immunocompromised people and anyone above or of the age of 30 years is eligible for a booster shot.

    Earlier this month, NCOC had approved a booster shot of Covid-19 vaccines for healthcare workers, those aged over 50 years, and immunocompromised people.

  • Another deadly Covid variant identified in Pakistan

    Another deadly Covid variant identified in Pakistan

    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.