Pakistan on Monday said that Army may be called in to implement coronavirus standard operating procedures to deal with the latest spike in COVID-19 cases.
All efforts were being made to control the spread of the contagion by ensuring compliance with non-pharmaceutical interventions, Special Assistant on Health Dr Faisal Sultan told reporters.
"We will take all administrative help for this as required, including the Army's help," he said.
It will be for the second time if the Army is called in to help the civil administration in implementing the SoPs. It was also called during the third wave which peaked in April. The compliance had increased as the Army soldiers joined the police on streets.
Sultan said wearing masks and avoiding big crowds was important to deal with the current sharp increase in cases.
He said that vaccination was mandatory for tourists going out for sightseeing during the upcoming Eid holidays.
The positivity rate went up from 2 to 4 per cent in recent days due to the violation of COVID-19 guidelines and the presence of the Delta variant that was first discovered in India, the official said.
Meanwhile, Pakistan detected 1,808 new cases, taking the national tally to 9,75,092, according to the Ministry of National Health Services.
It said 15 more fatalities took the death toll to 22,597.
Sultan said that 4,50,000 doses were administered on Sunday.
So far, 19.88 million doses have been administered in Pakistan, according to the health ministry, which also said that nearly 4 million people were fully vaccinated, while over 15 million partially vaccinated.
(Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Dear Reader,
Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance.
We, however, have a request.
As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed.
Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard.
Digital Editor
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU