No COVID death in 24 hrs after 2 years: Asad

ISLAMABAD: National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) Chairman Asad Umar has said for the first time in two years, no Covid related death was reported in the country during the last 24 hours.
In a tweet on Wednesday, Asad Umar, who is also minister for planning, development and special initiatives, said, “Alhamdulillah, no Covid related deaths reported in the country in the last 24 hours. This is the first time in 2 years that this has happened.”
According to the NCOC statistics, the country witnessed a slight rise in coronavirus cases, with a 1.28 percent positivity rate compared to 0.82 percent a day earlier. However, the country has been maintaining a positivity rate below 2 percent since March 9 – when a 2.07 percent positivity ratio was recorded.
As per NCOC data, 34,476 tests were conducted, out of which 443 new cases were diagnosed. The total count of confirmed Covid-19 cases since the start of the pandemic has reached 1,522,862. According to the NCOC, 455 patients are still being treated in ICU.
Asad Umar has recently announced that the government is scrapping all the Covid-19 related restrictions across Pakistan. “The pandemic has not ended yet but is undergoing the ending phase,” Umar had said while addressing a press briefing at NCOC, flanked by SAPM on Health Dr Faisal Sultan.
Umar said that after reviewing the Covid-19 situation in the country in detail, the forum has decided to lift all coronavirus restrictions, including protocols for indoor dining, indoor wedding events and markets, sports activities and all the other SOPs across Pakistan.
However, he said that the only restriction that would continue is the vaccination against Covid-19, but that too till the vaccination ratio reaches 80 percent or above. “Then we will consider if we still need to keep the restriction for vaccination in place,” he had said. – TLTP