ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Tuesday ordered immediate restoration of the National Command and Operation Centre that was disbanded in March after the country had seen an improvement in the virus situation after the emergence of the rising COVID-19 cases of the Omicron sub-variant in the country.

According to a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s House, the premier took notice of the new variant of Omicron and its growing cases. “He has also sought a report from the National Institute of Health (NIH) over the current Covid-19 situation,” it said.

On Monday, the first case of a new sub-variant of the Omicron was reported in Pakistan. The NIH detected in Pakistan the first case of “Omicron sub-variant BA.2.12.1” the cases of which have been increasing in different countries. The NIH advised citizens to adopt precautionary measures and got themselves vaccinated against the coronavirus and its variants.

Despite the emergence of a case of a new sub-variant of Omicron in Pakistan yesterday, the overall situation of the pandemic is not bothersome so far as there was no fatality reported again on Tuesday and the infectivity ratio declined to 0.28% during the last 24 hours, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.