PMA's Qaiser Sajjad warns of fourth coronavirus wave in Pakistan by July end, early August

• Pakistan could see a fourth wave of COVID-19, says PMA Secretary-General Dr Qaiser Sajjad.
• Dr Sajjad says COVID-19 cases are increasing again in the country.
• Appealed to the citizens to follow SOPs, refrain from hugging and shaking hands on Eid.

Pakistan Medical Association Secretary-General Dr Qaiser Sajjad has warned of a fourth coronavirus wave in Pakistan by late July or early August.

Dr Sajjad said that COVID-19 cases are increasing again in the country.

Pakistan's daily coronavirus case load went below the 1,000 cases in a day mark for the first time in six days after the country reported 830 new cases Tuesday morning.

Coronavirus: Pakistan records under 1,000 daily cases for first time in almost a week

The daily case count has been over a 1,000 since July 1. The country last reported 979 cases in a day on June 30.

Another 25 people died of coronavirus in Pakistan in the last 24 hours, pushing the national death tally since the pandemic started to 22,452.

Dr Sajjad said citizens have stopped following coronavirus standard operating procedures. "If precautions are not taken, a fourth wave of coronavirus may occur in late July or early August," he said, saying there is a danger of the coronavirus situation in Pakistan turning similar to the situation in India.

He appealed to the citizens to follow SOPs and refrain from hugging and shaking hands on Eid. People should be vaccinated without any delay, he said.

COVID-19 cases saw 'definitive' uptick in last 7 days

On Monday, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan had said that there has been a small but noticeable increase in coronavirus cases in the country.

Taking to Twitter, the SAPM said that since last week, there has been a "definitive uptick in cases, percentage positivity, and other parameters."

Dr Faisal appealed to the masses to continue following the government's mandated coronavirus standard operating procedures (SOPs), including wearing masks, avoiding crowds and getting vaccinated — all of which can help prevent the spike in cases.