The National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) has made it mandatory to wear a facemask in public transport throughout the country, once more.

The National Institute of Health (NIH), in an official statement, has instructed the public to use facemasks when traveling by air, rail, or other public transport.

This development is due to a significant rise in COVID-19-related cases in the country over the last few days.

Today’s NIH confirmation of 382 COVID-19 cases brought the national Coronavirus positivity rate up to 2.85%. The country had an average of 272 Coronavirus cases per day last week.

Two new Coronavirus sub-variants were also discovered in Pakistan last week. These sub-variants were identified by B.4 (or B.5).

B.4 (and B.5) were first discovered in South Africa in February and February of this year, respectively. They are both more infectious than BA.2, an Omicron subvariant also known as “stealth Omicron”.

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