Finally, Pakistan is receiving some good news regarding the coronavirus situation. New cases of COVID-19 are falling in Pakistan, clocking in at 1,771 on Tuesday, for the first time in almost three weeks. The positivity rate, which reached 10-11%, had come down to 3.71%. This is reason for hope, a validation of the measures taken thus far that have helped us evade the devastation that the pandemic has wreaked in India.
Asad Umar, who supervises the government’s unified strategy against the pandemic, announced that the third wave of coronavirus is on the wane and the government intended to gradually open up business activities. However, there is a development of concern. The National Institute of Health announced on Friday that it had detected the first confirmed case of the Indian strain of COVID-19 in the country. That underscores how in this critical situation, letting one’s mask down is not an option.
On the other hand, vaccination campaign is in full swing across the country. According to National Command and Operation Centre, so far 7million people have received COVID-19 jabs in the country. Recently, the COVID monitoring body opened the walk-in vaccination for people aged 18 and above, which means almost the entire adult population of Pakistan can now get itself inoculated, depending on the availability of vaccines.
The recent apocalyptic scenes of people dying from the disease on the roadside in India likely contributed to convincing many here to get themselves inoculated. But the tendency towards vaccine scepticism is bound to resurface again and an awareness campaign is important to counter it. Meanwhile, there are millions of Pakistanis who do not possess CNICs, making them ineligible for vaccination. While the NCOC has decided that those with valid documentation of refugee status will be vaccinated, the authority is still considering how to inoculate the rest.
The government has to take some serious measures to address the issue in order to vaccinate almost 70 percent of the population against COVID-19. And, on the other hand, the citizens should show responsibility and continue following the standard operating procedures (SOPs) to contain the outbreak and get vaccinated. Getting vaccinated is one of the best ways to protect yourself and others from COVID-19.
