Increasing Infections.

In a little over a week, Pakistan has seen its corona numbers skyrocket again. Yesterday saw the total tally of daily cases go above 1300 for the first time since October last year. The spread of the Omicron variant is most likely the reason for this sudden spike. The national positivity rate stands at 2.9 percent, with Karachi diverging from the average and reaching a high of 10 percent.

This is extremely troubling, especially since it has only taken a little over a week for things to get this bad. The Omicron variant's increased virality is now taking full effect in Pakistan.

Our efforts to stop the spread are becoming more sluggish by the day. A slowdown in the vaccination rate-which has dropped to a daily average of 700,000 from the all time high of 1.5 million-is something the government needs to urgently rectify.

It is also unclear why, in the midst of the pandemic, when the vaccination numbers have taken an impressive trajectory, the government has taken the decision to close down two major vaccination centres in Islamabad and Lahore. The centre at Fatima Jinnah Park in Islamabad and the Expo Centre in Lahore...