Islamabad: For the first time, Pakistan administered more than 600,000 vaccine doses in the last 24 hours.
The vaccine administration was expedited across the country due to resurgence of COVID-19 cases.
Minister for Planning, Development & Special Initiatives Asad Umar in a tweet on Tuesday shared that more than 600,000 vaccine doses were administered across the country a day earlier (Monday).
While the increasing number of vaccine doses being administered was “encouraging”, the pace of vaccination needed to be speeded up so all social and economic restrictions could be lifted, said the Minister who is also Chairman of the National Command & Operation Centre (NCOC) the nerve centre to monitor the coronavirus situation in the country.
The NCOC in a tweet earlier revealed that 607,117 doses were administered in the last 24 hours.
“As long as a large part of the population does not get vaccinated, restrictions are unavoidable,” the minister said in his tweet.
“President Alvi cautions nation against fourth wave”
In his Eid Al Adha message, President Dr Arif Alvi while greeting the nation also warned them against the fourth “layer of Delta variant of corona virus.”
The president in his Eid message said to the Pakistanis to enjoy the happiness-filled moments, yet at the same time they should follow the COVID-19 SOPs and stay safe.
Smart thinking led to handling COVID-19
In another tweet, the president during an interview with a local think tank claimed it was “sense of compassion and smart thinking that helped us handling COVID-19.”
500 oxygen cylinders handed over to Gilgit-Baltistan
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has handed over 500 oxygen cylinders to the Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) government to cope with the fourth wave of the pandemic.
An NDMA spokesman said that besides the cylinders, 30 ventilators and 15 oxygen concentrators would be provided to GB to meet emergency situations.
He said that COVID-19 cases were on the rise in the region.
37 deaths, 2,145 new cases
Pakistan on Tuesday reported 37 deaths and 2,145 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours.
According to the NCOC, 40,805 tests were conducted in the said period that showed the positive cases had jumped to 49,929 on Tuesday from 48,550 on Monday. The country’s positivity rate stood at 5.25 per cent.
In Islamabad the health authorities and the district government officials have cautioned the people on the occasion of Eid to take extraordinary measures to prevent COVID-19 from spreading in the federal capital.
The Assistant Commissioner (AC) Rural Area visited the Bhara Kahu Cattle Market and earmarked the Entrance and the Exit gates directing the organizers to strictly follow the health guidelines and the SOPs for COVID-19.