ISLAMABAD: The government is closely monitoring the threat of the Covid-19 resurgence by adopting all possible measures including surveillance of indoor travellers and raising public awareness for which guidelines to all the concerned departments have been issued.

This was stated by Lieutenant General Inam Haider Malik, chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), here on Monday, while presiding over a meeting with the team of the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) on the Covid-19 situation and surveillance mechanisms at airports in the wake of the threat posed by the new BF.7 Omicron variant of the deadly virus.

The meeting was informed that the government had already issued instructions to the authorities concerned to ensure mass public awareness on the surge of Covid-19 variant especially ensure surveillance of travellers to avoid any risk of infection.

Briefing the panel, the NIH officials said that in the past 24 hours, a total 12 Covid-19 cases were reported in Pakistan by conducting 3,062 tests countrywide reflecting a positivity ratio of 0.39 percent.

No coronavirus death was reported in the past 24 hours, while at present, 11 patients are in critical condition. Pakistan since the start of the global pandemic has reported a total 1.58 million cases and 30,636 Covid-19 deaths.

The NIH showed detailed statistics on the Covid-19 Management and Vaccination Administration Data in Pakistan. It was briefed that Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests of inbound passengers have been conducted at all airports of the country as per policy in vogue. The NIH officials told the forum that vaccination and screening tests of pedestrians are being executed at the Torkham border on a daily basis. The CAA informed that an efficient system with a proper management team was fully functional at airports to remain vigilant and related logistic arrangements had been made to deal with any sub-variant of Covid-19. The NDMA chairman expressed confidence in the country’s anti-covid-19 strategies and national preparedness regime.

However, he instructed the NIH to issue precautionary advisories for educational institutes, social gatherings, and communities and conduct weekly media briefings to sensitize the public and stakeholders.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2023