The Coronavirus positivity rate in the country has seen a rapid decline since the past week with Saturday recording 6.8 percent positivity rate. The COVID daily tally has also remained below 5,000 with critical cases under 2,000, pointing that the health sector in the country is not under stress. The effective imposition of COVID-19-related curbs by the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC), the government’s nerve center for synchronised strategy to contain the coronavirus spread, has borne fruit. It was just last month when the Omicron-driven fifth wave in the country was witnessing a surge in daily caseload, which prompted the NCOC to impose fresh curbs, especially in cities with a positivity ratio of above 10 percent. These restrictions – ban on all indoor activities, 50 percent crowd in parks and gyms, scattered classes in schools, among other things – along with the NCOC launching a door-to-door inoculation campaign have gravely helped reduce the positivity rate.
This has led the NCOC announcing an ease in some of the Coronavirus-related restrictions, such as, allowing 100 percent crowd in the second leg of the Pakistan Super League matches in Lahore. However, it must also be noted that experts believe that many Pakistanis have developed acute immunity against the virus. A report in a leading national daily states: “whenever a large number of population is exposed to a pandemic, human bodies/people start developing short-term antibodies against the disease.” This means that more people might be infected than recorded, owing to their fewer or no symptoms. It most certainly means that the daily tally of the cases is underreported.
Moreover, a sub-variant of Omicron, the BA.2, has also been found in the West, with it rapidly spreading in Scandinavian countries. The BA.2 is said to be more contagious and it is likely that it will spread in Pakistan soon as well. In the wake of this, the NCOC along with the government should thoroughly evaluate the situation before easing restrictions further. We must take pride in effectively dealing with the Coronavirus pandemic but with caution. The tide has not settled yet.
