Pakistan ill-prepared for another Covid-19 wave, says local media report

Pakistan seems to be ill-prepared to prevent the spread of possible coronavirus infection, regardless of claims made by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) that the Covid-19 situation in the country is being monitored, according to local media.

At the country's airports, no protective measures like rapid testing and screening of inbound travellers have been put in place to detect Covid-19 cases, the Dawn reported.

The newspaper cited a report by the National Institute of Health Pakistan which said that 15 new cases were reported in the country on Sunday. The case positivity rate was 0.4 per cent and 16 patients were reported in critical condition. As far as the tests are concerned 3,749 Covid tests were conducted- around 406 in Islamabad, 107 in Faisalabad, 920 in Lahore, and 321 in Peshawar.

Although, in the matter of the ill-preparedness of the country regarding the virus spread, independent experts in the county believe that the NCOC must now issue fresh guidelines and give a "position statement".

As the virus has been gripping China again and can enter Pakistan at any time.

Microbiologist Prof Javaid Usman said that in China virus started spreading at a fast pace after restrictions were suddenly lifted. He added that currently, the atmosphere due to a lack of rainfall has become polluted, with dust acting as one of the major pollutants.

Further, Usman said that "Such atmosphere contains Influenza, swine flu (H1N1), non-Covid-19 coronaviruses, para-influenza viruses, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Due to the presence of all these other germs, it becomes difficult to tell if a person is suffering from Covid-19 or some other virus," according to the Dawn report.

Prof Dr Javed Akram a renowned general physician told Dawn that the transmission rate of the virus has increased over the months. He also mentioned that there was no evidence of whether the vaccines were effective against the new covid variants.

"Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has become corona positive. He was unwell for two days. The corona test was done today on the advice of the doctor. The public and the workers are requested to pray for the speedy recovery of the Prime Minister," Information Minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said in a tweet.

This is the third time Sharif tested Covid positive. Previously, in January this year and in June 2020 also Pakistan PM tested positive for Covid-19. Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president, a cancer survivor, had last tested positive for COVID-19 in January 2022.