Asad Umar clarifies about possibilities of lockdown amid Omicron threat

ISLAMABAD: Head of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) Asad Umar on Wednesday rejected the possibility of a complete lockdown in view of rising Omicron cases of Covid-19 variant in the country, ARY News reported.

In a statement, Asad Umar said that Omicron cases are increasing rapidly but the government has no plan to impose lockdown in the country.

“There is no chance to impose another complete lockdown,” he said and added the government is closely monitoring the new Covid-19 Omicron variant.

Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar today said that Omicron cases are increasing rapidly and urged the public to adopt precautionary measures and get themselves vaccinated.

Speaking at a presser along with SAPM on Health Dr. Faisal Sultan, Asad Umar said that the Omicron cases are increasing at a fast pace in Pakistan.

“The masses should avoid crowded places besides also wearing a facemask and adopting other precautionary measures,” he said while citing examples from US, UK, and South Africa where Omicron cases have led to a manifold increase in hospitalization.

He said that the only message they have for Pakistanis is to immediately receive their COVID vaccination as it could lessen the impact of the new wave led by the Omicron variant.

“The positivity ratio has reached 8.1 after the emergence of Omicron cases and those living in urban centres will be hurt the most,” he said and added that 60 percent of Omicron cases are only being reported from Karachi and Lahore.

Sharing an alarming trend, Asad Umar said that Karachi has witnessed a 940 percent increase in cases during the last two weeks while Punjab has seen a 185 percent increase in cases in 10 days.