Daily Times

Minister for Planning, Development Asad Umar on Saturday urged the nation to show sense of responsibility and discipline as much as to contain the spread of coronavirus as it had shown in the early days of the outbreak.

“In the early days of virus, people had shown a great discipline and followed the guidelines to restrain spread of the disease, however I was much disappointed to see clear violation of standard operating procedures (SOPs) issued by the government during last days of Ramazan and during Eid celebrations,” he said while addressing media after chairing a meeting of National Command and Operations Center (NCOC). The minister urged the people to follow the guidelines and show discipline again so that the increasing number of coronavirus cases could be restricted.

“The most successful and powerful strategy is that all people should bring changes in their lives in order to defeat this pandemic,” he said, adding that the people who are not following the SOPs are not only endangering their own life but also threatening lives of others. He specifically urged the trade and industries leadership to play role in acting upon the guidelines agreed by them.

Asad Umar said slowing the pace of the spread of coronavirus is still top most priority of the government and it is acting upon the smart lockdown strategy. “The basic strategy has not been changed that is to limit the pace of spread of disease to that extent that our health system is not choked,” he said, adding that administrative actions are being taken against those who are violating the SOPs.

At present, he said 884 places across the country have been sealed due to virus cases in particular areas and almost 200,000 people have been affected by such lockdowns. However, he said troubling 200,000 people at the cost of saving 210 million people is a reasonable step.

Asad Umar said the disease is not as fatal in Pakistan as it was in the Western countries. In Pakistan, he said only nine people out of one million have died of Covid-19 whereas in United Kingdom (UK), 600 patients died out of one million.

Special Assistant to Prime Minister on National Health Services Dr Zafar Mirza said that 75 percent beds at intensive care units (ICU) of hospitals are unoccupied, dispelling the impression of shortage of facilities for Covid-19 patients. He said that only 25 percent beds with ventilators are being used at hospitals to support patients while sufficient quantity is available for incoming patients and there is no any shortage of bed, ventilator or any other facility for Covid-19 patients. He said that lockdown policy is being implemented in 700 areas of the country to avoid spread of the disease while only such places are sealed where there are threats of massive local transmission. He said there is no shortage of personal protection equipment (PPE) kits for frontline health workers and doctors as the government is regularly providing kits to 450 hospitals across the country. He said the government has developed the system with having update on status of available facilities at public sector hospitals for Covid-19 patients.

Meanwhile, the NCOC has provided around 250 additional ventilators to enhance capacity and meet requirements of provinces including Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK), Gilgit Baltistan (GB) and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT). According to NCOC, the allocated 250 additional ventilators have been released over the last one week to overcome challenges in critical care.