At least 473 coronavirus cases were reported over the last 24 hours, as the government prepares to shut the National Command and Operation Centre and transfer the responsibilities to the NIH-CDC, amid the drop in virus cases and positivity rate.

As per the NCOC Covid statistics released on Tuesday, as many as 34,401 tests were conducted in a single day and the Covid positivity rate stood at 1.37 per cent. Moreover, four people because of Covid-19 and 560 patients are on critical care.

The latest Covid data further supports the government’s stance for the closure of the NCOC forum, which serves as the nerve centre of the country’s unified efforts to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus. Special Assistant to the PM on Health Faisal Sultan last week revealed that the responsibility to deal with the coronavirus data would be given to the National Institute of Health, Centres for Disease Control – another forum which also reviews the Covid situation and was the first to report the emergence of the Covid’s Omicron variant in the federal capital.

The NCOC forum was formed on March 27, 2020, on the instructions of Prime Minister Imran Khan with the senior federal minister – Asad Umar – taking the lead. The forum, which also includes armed forces personnel, in coordination with health ministries and all federating units, reviews the Covid situation and takes decisions in view of obtained data. The NCOC came under the National Coordination Committee, which is presided over by PM Imran.

According to the countrywide Covid data, Sindh topped the list with the maximum number of cases, 572,297, followed by Punjab (503,939), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (218,268), Islamabad (134,859), Azad Jammu and Kashmir (43,181), Balochistan (35,442), and Gilgit Baltistan (11,641).

Furthermore, wearing masks and maintaining social distance have been two of the mandatory SOPs to be followed to avoid the further spread of the virus. NCOC head Asad Umar and PM’s aide on Health Faisal Sultan have time again stressed similar concerns for the public.