OPPO has been a pioneer in the smartphone sector and is among the top smartphone brands in Pakistan. The brand is constantly bringing state-of-the-art innovations to its latest phones. OPPO is set to introduce the latest addition to the OPPO Reno Series, the Reno5, to the Pakistani market.
The very first Reno phone was released in mid-2019, to empower smartphone photography among the young generation. From then on, OPPO brought numerous improvements to this series and released powerful phones in the last two years. Each new successor tops the camera qualities of the previous ones adapting to the changing needs of the fast-paced youth. Based on the concept of enabling youth to become champions in their life, the Reno series allows them to stand out while connecting them to their loved ones.
Equipped with ground-breaking camera technology, innovative design, and top-notch performance, the new OPPO Reno5 will ensure an enhanced smartphone experience for users. The phone boasts a powerful camera set up offering immense versatility to the young smartphone photography and videography enthusiasts to perfectly capture the most detailed and stunning visuals with optimized features.
The OPPO Reno5 will fashion a futuristic yet elegant gradient design referred to as the Reno Glow effect. The innovative sparkling and matte finish will feature a colour-changing effect that exhibits different colours at different viewing angles, resulting in an eye-catching first impression.
The Inevitable Disaster - New Coronavirus Variant Detected in Pakistan
New Coronavirus Strain Detected In Karachi As Another 55 Lose Battle To The Deadly Virus
The new strain of the virus is present in Pakistan according to the authorities, although no flights from or to the UK are in operation. On Tuesday, a patient from Karachi had the highly contagious strain of the coronavirus.
The new strain B.1.1.7 has a higher transmission rate and might be twice as contagious
The patient has a travel history to the UK and further investigation is underway. As the federal government has no plans to impose a total lockdown, the number of daily cases is still climbing.
— Ministry of National Health Services, Pakistan (@nhsrcofficial) December 30, 2020
The virus was detected as the respective provincial and central health departments are running checks on UK returnees.
Unsurprisingly, Karachi, with the highest population and population per sq. km. is the worst-hit by the pandemic.
“Twelve samples of UK returnees were taken for genotyping out of which six were positive and three showed the new variant of the virus in the first phase,” the Sindh provincial ministry of health said in a statement on Twitter.
“The genotyping showed 95 percent match of the new variant from the UK. These samples will go through another phase of genotyping,” it added.
“The contact tracing of these patients is in process and their contacts are we are isolating them” the statement from the ministry added.
Pakistan has already banned all UK flights following the emergence of the variant virus.
Several other countries have taken similar measures. However, there is yet no evidence that suggests the mutation is more deadly.
High Transmission Rate
The World Health Organisation is “in close contact with UK officials on the new #COVID19 virus variant” and promises to update governments and the public as they will learn more according to senior officials.
In the meanwhile, the WHO has provided guidelines in an official tweet.
17/While we work to better understand #SARSCoV2 variants, we should be guided by the local epidemiology and capacities to respond.
The public health and social measures & comprehensive response actions outlined by @WHO work to limit spread & save lives: https://t.co/c0trQGhPIv
The new strain was first found in southeastern England in September. Since then it has been spreading in the area ever since, according to Britain’s national media agency BBC.
“What we understand is that it does have increased transmissibility, in terms of its ability to spread,” said Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s the technical lead on Covid-19.
Viruses mutate a lot, and scientists have found thousands of different mutations among samples of the virus. Many of these changes have no effect on how easily the virus spreads or how severe the symptoms are except the new UK variant.
The new SARS-CoV-2 variant, later given ID B.1.1.7, was first discovered in the United Kingdom and appears to spread faster than others, according to experts. Researchers believe it may have originated in an immunocompromised patient who had a long-running infection.
The new variant has changes in its protein sequence that help it evade the immune system and theoretically make it twice as infectious.
55 More Lose the Battle Against Coronavirus as Second Wave Intensifies
The Ministry for National Health Services confirms through the National Command Operations Centre (NCOC) that a further 55 people lose the battle of life against the coronavirus. The total death count from COVID-19 has risen to 9,929 so far in the country.
— Ministry of National Health Services, Pakistan (@nhsrcofficial) December 28, 2020
The province of Sindh saw the most deaths, as there were 22 deaths there. Punjab had 21 deaths and there were seven deaths in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Out of the 55 deaths during the last 24 hours, 35 died on ventilators. Total active cases in Pakistan were 39,488 as of December 28. So far, 423,892 people recovered across Pakistan making it a significant count. There is no patient on ventilator in AJK, GB and Balochistan.
In all, 2263 patients are in a critical condition across Pakistan and the number of critical patients is rising fast. In all, 1974 people tested positive out of 32,205 tests conducted on December 27 with the positivity rate recorded at 6.13%. The highest positivity rate was in the city of Abbotabad at 15.95%. This was closely followed by Karachi at 14.81% and then by Hyderabad at 14.47%.
The positivity ratio in the federating units was AJK 12.54%, Balochistan 2.71%, GB 0%, Islamabad 5.94%, KP 5.16%, Punjab 4.06% and Sindh 8.61%.
The Confusing Policies
The authorities themselves are in a state of confusion when it comes to implementing strict measures. The government insists that ‘smart lockdowns’ are the best policy for restricting the spread. Yet the number of cases seems to be going up every day, even with the lockdowns in place.
The government is not the only one to blame for these cases. The people who are the ones in danger are the culprits themselves. The whole population is having ceremonies, gatherings and are meeting at restaurants as the second wave intensifies. Restaurant authorities politely ask an individual to wear a mask. A request, which is almost every time denied. Even if the people have a mask on, the effectiveness of this policy is questionable. Everyone has to take them off anyway to eat and the mask is on the table or just hanging here and there. If someone has been to an infected area, the mask could have the virus on the outside fabric.
Global Coronavirus Confusion
It is not just Pakistan that is going through this confusion. Countries where vaccines are already given to people are still seeing rising positive cases. Moreover, with the discovery of new strains, the vaccine saga is back to square one. The new strain will need a new vaccine, by which time the virus may be in the process of further mutation.
Private Sector Will Be Allowed To Import Coronavirus Vaccine
Dr. Faisal Sultan, Special Assistant To The Prime Minister For Health Says Private Sector Given The Green Light To Import Coronavirus Vaccine
Pakistani authorities say that the state will allow the private sector to import vaccines for coronavirus.
“In addition to procurement by the government, if private companies get approval, through the normal process, they will be allowed to do so,” Dr. Faisal Sultan, special assistant to the prime minister on health said.
The whole procurement of vaccines has become a laughing stock because of the inconsistent comments of the authorities. Earlier, officials from the Health Ministry and the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) were quick to point out that the private sector will not be allowed to import the vaccine.
Moderna, Pfizer-BioNTech are on the frontline of vaccine development
The government is still hanging in the balance as there is no concrete deal for vaccine procurement as of yet. Responding to a query about whether the government has finalized deals with any vaccine manufacturers, Sultan said: “Not yet, but very soon.”
The Never-Ending Vaccine Negotiations
According to him, authorities are negotiating with China and Russia, among others, to procure the vaccines. Mr. Sultan also acts as health minister for the country and says that frontline workers and senior citizens will be given the vaccine first.
The government recently increased an initial sum of $150 to $250 it earmarked for purchasing the doses.
The science and technology minister made a similar announcement earlier in the day.
“We are in touch with all pharmaceutical companies which are manufacturing COVID-19 vaccines… Dr Faisal Sultan, the federal health adviser, and the Health Ministry are leading the initiative,” Fawad Chaudhry told a news conference in the eastern city of Lahore.
He said talks with a couple of pharmaceutical companies are in their final stages. The government should be able to give a definite vaccination strategy within a week after the talks conclude.
“We hope to inoculate a large section of the population free of charge,” he said. “We will also allow private companies to import, and cater to the rich, who do not want to wait.”
Late To The Vaccination Party
Pakistan will launch a vaccination drive in the second quarter of 2021. Nausheen Hamid, the parliamentary secretary at the Health Ministry, had said earlier this month.
Immunization has already begun in EU countries, the US, UK, and many Gulf states including Saudia Arabia. The vaccines approved so far include those produced by Pfizer–BioNTech and Moderna.
Subpar Government Response Amidst Coronavirus Second Wave
The Response of the Federal and the Provincial Governments Has Been Below Average As 111 More Lose The Battle Against Coronavirus
Deaths during the last three days were 111, 85, and 63. The situation seems to be getting out of hand as the infection rate is also on a rise. People are not taking any precautions as coronavirus runs rampant.
People are not taking any precautionary or safety measures as the Government opts for smart lockdowns
— Ministry of National Health Services, Pakistan (@nhsrcofficial) December 26, 2020
The Ministry of National Health Sciences reports different statistics than obtained from private channels. The government is also in denial of a new strain of the virus as passengers from the UK are reaching Pakistan through different routes. Flights from the UK were banned by the central government in a press release.
The NCOC & Civil Aviation Authority have provided more details about restrictions on travel from the UK announced earlier. Pakistani passport-holders on long-term visas, flight crews, & diplomatic officials of the British High Commission can enter Pakistan under certain protocols pic.twitter.com/lNOvxZVIyA
— Ministry of National Health Services, Pakistan (@nhsrcofficial) December 23, 2020
The National Command and Operations Centre is also advising people to avoid gatherings. Social visits and family get-togethers should also be avoided. Moreover, the NCOC urges the community as a whole to restrict gatherings on Christmas and New year events.
Deteriorating Health and Increasing Coronavirus Statistics
New infections and the ever-increasing death rate in the country are getting more worrisome by the day. Some 80 to 100 deaths and new cases ranging between 2,000 and 3,000 on average are being reported each day. Unfortunately, testing, which peaked at around 48,000 tests in 24 hours about 10 days ago, has fallen to below 40,000 per day. Why this is so, and why the government is unable to rapidly expand testing, is a mystery. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Pakistan’s daily testing has been abysmally low. For a country of 200m people, our per capita testing rate is among the lowest in the region. At one point this year, the authorities explained away low testing by saying that citizens were not testing enough, which — if true — points to a failure of public health messaging.
The collective response of both federal and provincial authorities has been hugely disappointing in the second wave. A far cry from the success story during the first peak, Pakistan is hurtling towards an abyss as it sleepwalks its way into a crisis that could see its healthcare system collapse.
At the center, the authorities have utterly failed to convey the seriousness of the pandemic to the public. The Sindh government, of which key members have tested positive, continues to irresponsibly partake in the PDM’s public rallies. In KP, the cases and positivity ratio are climbing as the provincial government ignores WHO advice for a full 15-day lockdown in Peshawar, and opts for ‘smart’ lockdowns instead. The Punjab government’s at-home isolation policy, too, is in tatters as the province has the most coronavirus cases and deaths.
In a nutshell, the whole society is passing the hat around with the blame. The federal government, the Punjab government, and the KPK government are all stressing their fashionable word, a smart lockdown. They are in denial of the new virus strain and are perhaps blind towards the increasing death count.
Dr. Faisal Sultan, Special Assistant To The Prime Minister For Health Says Private Sector Given The Green Light To Import Coronavirus Vaccine
Pakistani authorities say...
