Will coronavirus infections spike during winters in Pakistan?
Expert says virus has been mutating since it first spread
The research conducted on coronavirus so far reveals that weather does not have a major impact on virus infections in Pakistan, says Dr Atta-ur-Rahman, the chairperson of PM’s task force on science and technology.
Dr Rahman was speaking on SAMAA TV's programme Naya Din Monday. He said the virus keeps mutating which means that its characteristics keep changing, thus, nothing definitive can be said about its spread.
"But we know that the number of people catching flu in winters increases," the scientist said. "This might suggest that a second wave of COVID-19 is ahead of us. Several other countries are experiencing it already."
Dr Rahman explained that the major reason behind the increase in cases was the failure to implement the SOPs. "We can see that people are not following precautionary measures," he said. "Airplanes and markets are full again. There's no concept of social distancing being practised."
Discussing the vaccine, the PM's task force chairperson said it would take another six to eight months for the vaccines to come out for public.
On Sunday, Prime Minister Imran Khan tweeted regarding the fear of a second wave of virus infections. He urged people to wear face masks in public to avoid the spike.
"All offices and educational institutions must ensure masks are worn," the premier said.
Compared to some other states, Allah has been kind to us in Pak & spared us worst effects of COVID-19. There is a fear onset of winter could result in 2nd wave. I urge everyone to wear face masks in public to avoid a spike. All offices & ed institutions must ensure masks are worn
— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) October 4, 2020
Pakistan reported 632 new COVID-19 cases Monday. Six people lost their lives to the virus.
Over 33,000 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours with the highest number of cases coming from Sindh and Punjab.
