Pakistan minister warns of 4th Covid-19 wave in July if SOPs not followed

While many countries are fearing third wave of coronavirus, Pakistan Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar on Friday warned that a fourth wave may occur in July if the standard operating procedures (SOPs) are not followed.

The federal minister, who is also the chief of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), said that the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) carried out an "artificial intelligence-based disease modeling analysis", which suggests that in the absence of "strong SOP enforcement and continued strong vaccination program," a fourth COVID-19 wave is likely to emerge in Pakistan.

"Reviewed the artificial intelligence based disease modeling analysis today in NCOC . In the absence of strong SOP enforcement and continued strong vaccination program, the 4th wave could emerge in Pakistan in July. Please adhere to sop's and vaccinate as soon as possible," Umar tweeted.

During the third wave, the number of active cases in Pakistan crossed the 50,000 mark on March 31. Meanwhile, Pakistan reported the highest coronavirus positivity ratio of 11.63 per cent on April 4, Geo News reported.

According to the NCOC, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country stand at 952,907, while the total number of deaths has risen to 22,152.

( With inputs from ANI )