Covid-19: Pakistan may call in Army to implement SOPs as cases rise

Pakistan on Monday said that Army may be called in to implement coronavirus standard operating procedures to deal with the latest spike in COVID-19 cases.

All efforts were being made to control the spread of the contagion by ensuring compliance with non-pharmaceutical interventions, Special Assistant on Health Dr Faisal Sultan told reporters.

"We will take all administrative help for this as required, including the Army's help," he said.

It will be for the second time if the Army is called in to help the civil administration in implementing the SoPs. It was also called during the third wave which peaked in April. The compliance had increased as the Army soldiers joined the police on streets.

Sultan said wearing masks and avoiding big crowds was important to deal with the current sharp increase in cases.

He said that vaccination was mandatory for tourists going out for sightseeing during the upcoming Eid holidays.

The positivity rate went up from 2 to 4 per cent in recent days due to the violation of COVID-19 guidelines and the presence of the Delta variant that was first discovered in India, the official said.

Meanwhile, Pakistan detected 1,808 new cases, taking the national tally to 9,75,092, according to the Ministry of National Health Services.

It said 15 more fatalities took the death toll to 22,597.

Sultan said that 4,50,000 doses were administered on Sunday.

So far, 19.88 million doses have been administered in Pakistan, according to the health ministry, which also said that nearly 4 million people were fully vaccinated, while over 15 million partially vaccinated.