ISLAMABAD, May 10 (Xinhua) -- Pakistani Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif took notice of the detection of Omicron sub-variant BA.2.12.1 of COVID-19 in the country and ordered immediate restoration of the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), the Prime Minister's Office said on Tuesday.
The prime minister directed Pakistan's Ministry of Health to provide a detailed report on the current COVID-19 situation in the country, the office said in a statement.
Pakistan closed NCOC, a department formulating policies and supervising their implementation in the national fight against COVID-19, at the end of March following a persistent decline in new cases and fatalities.
The NCOC was established in March 2020 during the first wave of the pandemic in the country to collate, analyze and process the pandemic information received from across the country and take measures accordingly.
Pakistan's National Institute of Health on Monday announced the detection of the first case of Omicron sub-variant BA.2.12.1 in the country. ■
