28 per cent Pakistanis think that COVID-19 pandemic has ended, says survey

A survey by a market research company in 34 countries showed that Pakistan had the highest share of those who thought the pandemic was over.

The survey, titled 'Covid-19: Will The Pandemic Ever End and How Will We Know?' conducted by Ipsos showed that 28 per cent Pakistanis were of the opinion that the pandemic had already come to an end, compared with a mere 9 per cent of people in other countries, reported Dawn.

The survey sampled 22,023 adults aged between 18-74 years and was conducted in Pakistan, United States, Canada, Malaysia, South Africa, Turkey, Australia, Brazil, Mainland China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Spain, Argentina, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Denmark, Hungary, India, Israel, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Romania, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Sweden and Switzerland.

Replying to another question, at least 14 per cent believed that the pandemic may never end, reported Dawn.

Meanwhile, with the positivity rate on the rise, Pakistan Planning Minister Asad Umar on Monday warned that there is clear evidence of another COVID-19 wave as cases of the new variant, Omicron, are increasing, particularly in Karachi, reported Dawn.

Data from the National Command and Operations Center (NCOC) shows that the positivity rate, which was 1.08 per cent on December 31, had reached 1.3 per cent on Sunday.

Moreover, the number of cases has doubled in less than a week, as data released on Sunday showed that 594 cases were reported against 291 cases on December 27. On Sunday, at least 637 patients were in critical care, reported Dawn.

According to Asad Umar, the recent surge in cases seemed to be due to the most transmissible variant of coronavirus, Omicron.

"Genome sequencing is showing a rising proportion of Omicron cases, particularly in Karachi. Remember, wearing a mask is your best protection," he tweeted.

( With inputs from ANI )

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