COVID-19: Next three weeks could be critical, warns Pak medical body

Islamabad [Pakistan], January 18 : Amid the unabated spread of COVID-19 cases across the country, the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) on Tuesday warned that the next two to three weeks could be critical for the country.
This warning comes as Pakistan has detected 5,034 new COVID-19 cases, up 16 percent from Monday, marking the highest daily caseload since August 8, The News International newspaper reported.
An alarming rate of COVID-19 positivity rate in the city of Karachi has sent ripples through the medical fraternity in the country.
Witnessing this record spike, the PMA urged the Pakistani government to act quickly after Karachi's COVID-19 positivity rate reached 40 percent. This number only showed registered coronavirus cases, however, the number of unregistered cases is much higher, it added.
This latest surge in virus cases is said to have been caused by the fifth wave of COVID-19, which would touch peak in the middle of March, according to the Dawn newspaper.
The health department on Monday had said about 95pc of the reported cases were of the Omicron variant.
The authorities have expressed concern over the spike in infections among doctors, nurses, and paramedics.
"It would not be less than 500, I think," a senior official was quoted by Dawn. "There are doctors, paramedics, and even administrative staff of different public and private hospitals. Most of them are at their homes. This is all we have witnessed within a week or 10 days."
The Pakistani newspaper said the situation has compelled the medical fraternity to raise an alarm and make calls for immediate steps from the government and also from society.
Pakistan has so far recorded over 13 lakh confirmed infections of COVID-19. The south Asian country has also recorded nearly 30,000 deaths due to the virus.