Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday ordered the immediate restoration of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) after Pakistan reported its first case of the Omicron sub-variant BA.2.12.1.
The NCOC was created in March 2020 by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government to supervise its response to the Coronavirus pandemic. The forum directed all provincial authorities regarding measures to contain outbreaks. The NCOC’s data-led approach updated the nation on daily cases, deaths, recoveries, and number of vaccinations. It was dissolved by the previous government last month following a decline in COVID cases in the country.
According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s House, PM Shehbaz took note of the new variant of Omicron and its growing cases. “He has also sought a report from the National Institute of Health (NIH) over the current COVID-19 situation,” it said.
وزیر اعظم شہباز شریف کا اومیکرون وائرس کی نئی ساخت کے بڑھتے ہوئے کیسیز کا نوٹس۔
فوری طور پر NCOC کو بحال کیا جائے۔ وزیر اعظم کی ہدایت
وزارت قومی صحت سے موجودہ صورتحال کے متعلق رپورٹ طلب۔
— Prime Minister's Office (@PMO_PK) May 10, 2022
This comes a day after the NIH, which has been dealing with Covid-related matters, reported that it detected the first case of the Omicron sub-variant, BA.2.12 in the country.
A Health Ministry official spoke with local media that the patient had tested positive at the airport and later, after genome sequencing was done, it was confirmed that he had been infected with the new variant.
