ISLAMABAD: People should mark Eid-ul-Adha in a "limited, closed environment" said Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan Thursday.
As per a Geo News report, the premier's aide spoke about the alarming rise in the new Delta variant cases of the coronavirus, saying the data shows that the fourth is starting in Pakistan.
Dr Sultan said that the mutations in each new variant of the virus make it very easy to "jump from one person to another".
"This variant is spreading at a pace of 50-60%," he said.
Speaking about the importance of the coronavirus vaccines, Dr Sultan said the present COVID-19 vaccines work on all types of variants of the virus.
He said, however, that each vaccine has an efficacy rate and that it is possible that people who have been previously vaccinated can contract the virus again.
Dr Sultan said that as per data collected by the NCOC, it is evident that Pakistan is facing a fourth wave of the coronavirus. He said after a decline in the number of cases of the infection, large cities like Karachi were reporting high positivity ratios.
When asked to identify the main cause of the cases spiking in Pakistan, the prime minister's aide said people were tired of business activities shutting down again and again due to the different waves of the infection. He said, as a result, many people forego wearing masks and taking other precautions, which leads to a spike in cases of the infection.
"However, we must keep in mind that coronavirus vaccines are the most effective weapons against the coronavirus," he said, adding that every person must at least get one dose of the vaccine.
Answering a question about the coronavirus vaccination certificate, Dr Sultan said the government has established a portal that would help solve people's problems related to obtaining certificates.
He said from August, people will be required to show coronavirus vaccine certificates if they wished to travel within Pakistan.
Positivity above 5%
Pakistan's coronavirus positivity rate crossed 5% after almost a month Thursday morning as the country continues to report a spike in its daily case count.
On May 24 this year, Pakistan had recorded a 5.21% coronavirus positivity ratio, according to the NCOC data. Currently, the infection rate stands at 5.52%.
The NCOC's data from Thursday shows that 48,910 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours and 2,545 of them came back positive for coronavirus.
With 47 new fatalities from the virus, the national death tally soared to 22,689.
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