The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has made it mandatory for all citizens to wear a face mask in public places following the rise in positive cases of Covid-19 across the country.
NCOC made masks mandatory in public as the emerging coronavirus cases surge till April 30. As per NCOC’s latest statement, “Mask wearing is recommended at crowded tightly enclosed spaces including healthcare facilities.”
Amid the current COVID-19 disease trends across the country, NCOC recommended following guidelines for the period up to 30 April 2023.
“Mask wearing is recommended at crowded tightly enclosed spaces including healthcare facilities”— NIH Pakistan (@NIH_Pakistan) March 16, 2023
According to the latest figures issued by the National Institute of Health (NIH), at least 109 people tested positive for Covid-19 across the country in the past 24 hours.
Pakistan has conducted 5,320 tests in the past 24 hours, out of which 109 people tested positive. The Covid positivity ratio was recorded at 2.05 percent.
Read more: NCOC asks people to ‘mask up’ till Punjab election day
Three years into the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of people around the world suffering from long-term complications of the virus. Recently, researchers have found promising signs that certain drugs may reduce the risk of developing Long COVID, and possibly even ease symptoms among people who are already sick.
The latest hopeful news relates to metformin, an accessible and affordable drug that’s been U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved to treat Type 2 diabetes since the 1990s.
Metformin, which belongs to a class of drugs called biguanides, is taken as a liquid or pill and works by controlling the amount of sugar in the blood. It also decreases inflammation in the body. Metformin appeared to be even more effective when used early.
Among people who took it within four days of developing symptoms, the risk of Long COVID dropped by more than 60 percent. In total, about 6 percent of people who took metformin went on to be diagnosed with Long COVID, compared to more than 10% of the people who took a placebo.
