Govt will have no choice but to impose lockdown if Covid-19 SOPs are not followed, warns Asad

While addressing a press briefing in Islamabad on Wednesday, the Federal Minister for Planning and Development said that Pakistan reported highest number of Covid-19 casualties this week since the virus outbreak.

"The situation is the country in alarming. The hospitals are dealing with huge influx if patients. Approximately 600 Covid-19 patients from across Pakistan are being admitted to hospitals every day,” he said.

Asad Umar further stated that if people did not follow precautionary measures, government will be forced to close big cities.

“There has been a drastic spike in coronavirus cases in Sindh, especially in Karachi and Hyderabad. The infection rate in Karachi and Hyderabad has reached 13% and 15%.

Asad Umar further stated that the number of patients on oxygen is more than 4,500 which is 30 % higher than the first wave of the virus.

Pakistan is presently experiencing the third wave of coronavirus which is said to be deadlier and more contagious than previous two waves.

According to National Command and Operations Center (NCOC), around 5,499 cases of coronavirus were reported while 148 people succumbed to the disease in the last 24 hours, taking the total death toll to 16,453.

The total number of confirmed cases reached to 772,381.

As many as 672,619 patients have recovered from the disease with 4,528 critical cases.