Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Friday that the entire nation pays tribute to the sacrifices of frontline health workers and their services in tackling the coronavirus pandemic, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

“The nation will never forget the sacrifices of doctors and frontline health workers,” the premier said while chairing a high-level meeting on anti-coronavirus measures.

The prime minister commended the performances of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) and the Ministry of National Health Services and directed to ensure SOPs and expedite vaccination.

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The meeting was informed that due to anti-Covid measures taken by the government, the number of Omicron cases has started to decline in the country.

It was said that the number of Omicron patients receiving intensive care is 71% less than that of during the fourth wave.

The meeting was apprised that during the last 24 hours, the number of positive cases decreased by 6.8%, hospital admissions, and the need for intensive care did not increase, which is a positive trend. It was told that the new wave of Covid-19 is causing 42 deaths per day on average.

The premier also hailed the public for effectively implementing the Covid-19 SOPs during the first wave of Covid-19.

“The government’s anti-Covid policies to deal with the crisis have been hailed around the world. The effective implementation of these policies could not have been possible without the support of the public.

“When people around the world were on the streets against the lockdown, the Pakistani people not only implemented the SOPs, cooperated fully with the government’s smart lockdown initiatives, but also participated actively in the vaccination process,” he added.