ISLAMABAD: With the most transmissible Covid-19 variant Omicron rapidly spreading in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad, the country’s infections tally crossed 1,000 mark on Thursday after a gap of around 80 days.
The national positivity ratio, which was less than one per cent in the last week of December 2021, has increased to 2.32pc. However, the positive development is that the country has so far administered over 160 million doses of vaccine.
Data released by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) showed that 1,085 virus cases and five deaths were reported over the past 24 hours. Moreover, 636 patients were on critical care.
Earlier, 1,086 persons were infected in a single day on October 14, 2021.
President Alvi again tests positive for coronavirus
The data regarding vaccination showed that the country has administered 160,651,005 doses, with 98,863,864 persons having got at least one jab and 72,995,114 fully vaccinated.
Meanwhile, President Dr Arif Alvi on Thursday said he had again tested positive for Covid-19, APP adds. “I have tested +ive for Covid again. Had a sore throat since 4-5 days & was getting better. Felt mildly feverish for a few hours two nights ago. No other symptoms,” he tweeted.
The president in his tweet urged the people and friends to resume precautions and follow the Covid-19 standard operating procedures.
According to the World Health Organisation, Omicron has been detected in around 100 countries, and Covid-19 cases involving the new variant are doubling every 1.5 to three days in places with community transmission.
On Wednesday, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan had said the provinces had been advised to make arrangements such as ensuring the availability of ample oxygen to deal with any such situation.
Talking to Dawn, he had said that a week ago the positivity rate was less than 1pc, but it had doubled over the course of few days. “We will be in a better position to make predictions about the pace of increase in cases next week, as the incubation period of the virus is around one week but at the moment it seems cases will increase,” he added.
Medical admissions
The Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC) has advised Jinnah Sindh Medical University (JSMU) not to intervene in private medical and dental college admissions.
According to a letter sent by the PMC to the JSMU vice chancellor on Thursday, the university through a public notice invited applications from students seeking admission to private medical and dental colleges in Sindh.
In the letter, available with Dawn, it has been informed that students with 50 per cent or higher marks in Medical and Dental Colleges Admission Test (MDCAT) have been made eligible for admission and the notice is not only in conflict with the Constitution of Pakistan, the Pakistan Medical Commission Act 2020 and the PMC Regulations but also against the rules as laid down conclusively by the Supreme Court and the Sindh High Court.
The university has been advised to withdraw the public notice to avoid any further confusion among the students seeking admission to medical and dental colleges in Sindh.
Published in Dawn, January 7th, 2022
