ISLAMABAD: Chairman National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) for COVID-19, Asad Umar Thursday warned that the new strain of the pandemic was spreading more rapidly and was also more deadly therefore the people must adopt the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) in letter and spirit.

In a tweet, Asad Umar who is also Minister for Planning and Development said in recent days, a sharp spike in the COVID positivity was witnessed and hospital were being occupied daily and number of patients in critical care units was also rising fast.

"If SOPs' compliance does not improve, we will be forced to place stronger restrictions on activities, please be very very careful," expressing his concern over the alarming situation he warned.