ISLAMABAD: On Monday, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) decided to increasingly stringent measures to ensure mandatory vaccination due to the increasing number of Omicron variants during the fifth wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. The NCOC meeting chaired by Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar and co-chaired by National Coordinator Major General Muhammad Zafar Iqbal took stock of evolving pandemic situation, the national vaccination campaign and the spread of the disease. Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Omar Ayub Khan and Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan also participated in the session. While addressing the epidemic curve chart data, the NCOC confirmed that the positivity rate in Karachi has risen from 2% to 6% in the last three days, with the highest number of positive instances. It was also stated that people who have been vaccinated are less susceptible to Omicron. The forum urged the masses to use face masks to avoid contracting the new variant and ensure social distancing at the outdoors to minimize disease spread. The forum reviewed district-wise vaccination targets and directed the province to achieve their set vaccination targets at the earliest to curtail the spread of the disease.