ISLAMABAD (DAWN/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - There are hopeful signs that we may have turned the corner.

With the Covid-19 positivity rate declining, the NCOC has felt confident enough to give the go-ahead for full-capacity attendance at the cricket stadium in Lahore when the PSL enters its next phase later this month.

In fact, unvaccinated children below 12 years will also be allowed to attend though it is mandatory for the rest of the spectators to be vaccinated. At the time of writing, the NCOC's latest update showed a positivity ratio of 5.3%, down from 7.4% a day earlier. Overall, the stats are encouraging - though there is always room for more effort and improvement.

Over 87m people in the country have had the full dose of the vaccine, while the figure for those who are partially vaccinated is around 111m. Meanwhile, around 3m boosters have been administered. The daily figures released yesterday showed that no critical Covid-19 case had been officially registered for the day before, a testament perhaps to the less dangerous nature of the Omicron strain.

Internationally, too, Pakistan is not at the moment perceived as a high-risk country, with the US Centre for Disease Control and Prevention placing it in the lowest-risk category. All this should put a smile on the faces of those who have been running the Covid-19 programme - and justifiably so. The challenges have been many but efforts to contain the contagion have also intensified.

But the dangers are never far away, and precautions and vaccinations must continue even as Covid-19 SOPs are slowly relaxed. Scientists have already warned of possible new strains and though many believe that these are likely to be milder, as the current trend and the pattern of previous pandemics appear to suggest, there are no guarantees.

The best protection against the virus so far has included vaccinations, wearing properly fitted face masks and social distancing among other measures. Continuing to stress on these will be a test of the national and provincial governments' commitment to battling the infection. The immediate concern in the days ahead are the grand political rallies that are being planned by the government and the opposition, where all caution will be thrown to the wind.

Such superspreader events are a virus's delight and both sides should take a step back to consider the damage they are likely to cause. Public rallies are a democratic right but so is the health of the population.

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