Daily Times

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on National Health Services Dr. Zafar Mirza on Friday warned that the Covid-19 cases could increase if the people did not practice the precautionary measures. Experts believe that as the lockdown has been lifted after the Supreme Court of Pakistan issued its directives, there is likely to be an increase in the cases.

Briefing the media, Dr. Mirza said that the country recorded 2,603 new coronavirus cases with 50 deaths during the last 24 hours which are the highest in a single day. The country also conducted the highest number of coronavirus tests during the last twenty-four hours, he said. Dr. Mirza recalled that the lockdown was eased in view of the difficulties of the poor people and the daily wagers.

The emergence of 2,603 new cases across the country takes the nation-wide tally to almost 50,700 cases. More than 1,000 people have died from the virus so far.

It is worth noting that the apex court not only ordered the reopening of shopping malls but also noted that Pakistan “is not … seriously affected” by Covid-19 and that there is no pandemic in the country. However, Pakistan has had at least 43,966 confirmed cases and more than 900 deaths since March, and the numbers keep rising. At least 500 Pakistani healthcare workers have been infected too, which shows that the country has been hit by the COVID-19 outbreak.

The federal government on Tuesday told the Supreme Court (SC) that citizens were not taking the Covid-19 threat seriously after the apex court’s remarks the other day, making it difficult for the administration to take measures to curb the viral outbreak. This could increase the Covid-19 cases.