ISLAMABAD: Eight days after enforcement of major restrictions and later closure of schools, the graph of Covid-19 cases has straightened but no exponential curve downwards could be observed.

Health experts believe that it may take another week to see a decline in the number of daily cases but the roller-coaster phenomenon will continue to exist.

The Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) had announced a number of restrictions for non-vaccinated people from Sept 1 and also started vaccination for people over 17 years of age and booster shots for those intending to travel abroad.

It was decided that from Sept 1 partially vaccinated transporters would be allowed to pick and drop students and partially vaccinated people could enter and work in shopping malls. Educational institutions and intercity transport were closed in the cities with high positivity rate from Sept 4.

The NCOC data showed that the graph of Covid-19 cases has straightened as around 4,000 cases are being reported per day, but there is no exponential curve in the graph or reduction in the number of cases.

As many as 83 deaths and 3,902 cases were reported in a single day on Wednesday. The number of active cases was 91,747.

Vice Chancellor of University of Health Sciences Dr Javed Akram, while talking to Dawn, said it was not necessary that plateau would come after every peak and transmission rate would decrease. “I believe that the decline in cases will be observed next week as transmission rate decreases around two weeks after restrictions. However, there will be a roller-coaster phenomenon in terms of number of cases.”

Published in Dawn, September 9th, 2021