Daily Times

Amid a new variant named Omicron, the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) head Asad Umar on Monday emphasized the need for everybody to play his or her role to stop its spread.

While addressing a press conference in Islamabad, Asad said so far 50 million Pakistanis had been fully vaccinated against the virus, while 30 million were those who had received only one dose.

He further said the number of cases of the pandemic had been dropping in the country for the last few weeks. “We have decided to increase testing in high-risk areas,” he informed.

NCOC head said that the Center was in touch with the provincial governments in order to deal with the new variant. “Beware, Omicron is spreading in the world fast,” he said.

He further said that consultations in progress over the booster vaccine would be over tomorrow (Tuesday, November 30).

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan, who was sitting alongside Asad, said that stopping the entry of the new variant into Pakistan was almost impossible. “The only way to keep oneself safe from the Omicron is to get fully vaccinated,” he asserted.

He, however, expressed satisfaction that the steps taken by the government to avert the pandemic from spreading further had borne fruits.