Federal Minister for Planning Asad Umar Friday had warned of shutting down wedding halls, indoor restaurants and gyms if the COVID-19 SOPs are not implemented as the 4th wave has now started to hit Pakistan.
Asad Umar mentioned how he had warned two weeks back that the government’s artificial intelligence models are now showing a possible indication of a fourth wave.
He also expressed his concern over how people are not adhering to the safety measures that need to be followed, giving a warning to those sectors not following the SOPs.
2 weeks back I had tweeted that our artifical intelligence models are showing possible emergence of 4th wave. Now there are clear early signs of 4th wave starting. Poor sop compliance, coupled with spread of variants of concern, indian variant in particular, are the main cause.
— Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) July 9, 2021
A forewarning had come from the chief of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) after the country reported a positivity rate of over 3% for three consecutive days!!
A day prior to this, Prime Minister Imran Khan had also urged the public to strictly follow the given protocols on Eid-ul-Azha to avoid any surge in cases.
Read more: COVID-19 fourth wave: PM Khan concerned over nation’s behavior against the virus
The PM had warned about the dangerous consequences of the Delta Variant which first originated from India and said that India, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Indonesia are currently suffering from a lockdown because of it.
Given the current situation in countries like Afghanistan, where there is an acute shortage of oxygen, I would like to say a few things to the nation,” the PM had said.
Field reports are showing complete disregard of the condition of vaccination for those attending indoor weddings and going to indoor restaurants & gyms. If the owners of these facilities do not show responsibility & ensure compliance, there will be no choice but to shut them down
— Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) July 9, 2021
According to the government’s national statistics, the number of daily Covid-19 cases dropped from four digits to three digits on June 25. The daily cases being reported were close to the 900 marks till June 27 and further fell to 735 on June 28. Then the number of cases gradually started increasing and doubled in just one week!! The positivity rate, which stood at less than 2 percent in June, crossed 3pc after a gap of only 20 days on Wednesday.
On Friday, Pakistan reported over 1,000 Covid-19 cases for the third straight day. The country recorded 1,737 coronavirus cases and 27 deaths during the last 24 hours.