Daily Times

A special meeting of the Apex Committee was held under the chair of Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar at his office on Thursday.

The meeting reviewed in detail the measures taken to overcome the second wave of the coronavirus. The participants expressed concern over the increasing number of corona affectees and the death rate. The political and military leadership of the province decided to take effective measures and make collective efforts to cope with the second wave of the Covid-19. The meeting agreed to chalk out effective strategy in advance, keeping in view possible future situation with regard to the coronavirus.

The meeting decided the strict implementation on wearing mask in the province and violation of SOPs will not be tolerated under any circumstances. It was further decided to run an effective public awareness campaign. It was also decided in the meeting that all necessary arrangements and strategy will be given final shape before the start of winter season.

It was recommended to quarantine people coming from abroad, especially from India and to impose ban on political, social, cultural and religious gatherings in the province. Similarly, it was recommended to restrict the number of invitees for marriages at open places. The meeting also dilate on the proposal to reserve some hospitals of the province especially from southern Punjab for corona as well as starting winter vocations in education institutions. Corps Commander Lahore Lt. Gen. Majid Ehsan asserted to extend all possible cooperation with Punjab Government. Pakistan Armed Forces assured their full support to the civil government as corona is a national challenge. Pakistan Army standing with the government to make people’s lives safer and ready to tackle the second wave of Corona through collective efforts, he added.

Usman Buzdar said that public support is utmost necessary to deal with coronavirus. The government will continue to take steps for protecting the lives of the people. The people have to show responsibility in this situation. The more precautionary measures people take the safer they will be, the CM added. The final decision will be taken by the technical team after reviewing all the recommendations. The government will ensure the implementation on the decision taken by technical team. The government will work more efficiently for safeguarding the lives of the citizens. He said that Pak Army is always vigorously supported the nation in its time of trial. The Chief Minister also thanked the military leadership for their cooperation to deal with the corona pandemic. The medical experts gave suggestions and recommendations to stop the spread of coronavirus in the province.

Corps Commander Lahore Lt. Gen. Majid Ehsan, General Officer Commanding 10-Div Maj. Gen. Muhammad Aniq-ur-Rehman Malik, DG Rangers Punjab Maj. Gen. Muhammad Amir Majeed and higher ranking military officials attended the meeting. Provincial Law Minister Raja Basharat, Provincial Health Minister Dr. Yasmin Rashid, Special Assistant for Information Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan, Chief Secretary Jawad Rafiq Malik, IG Police Inam Ghani, Addl. Chief Secretary (Home), Addl. Chief Secretary Higher Education, Secretary Specialized Healthcare & Medical Education, Secretary Primary & Secondary Health, Secretary Schools Education, Secretary Information, medical experts, head of Special Monitoring Unit and concerned officers were also present on this occasion.

Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar has said that all necessary measures will be taken to deal with the second wave of the Covid-19. He said that number of corona affectees are increasing day by day and a comprehensive cooperation of citizens is required like before for controlling the coronavirus. Legal Action will be taken on the violation of SOPs, he added. He said corona situation is being monitored on daily basis. All out measures will be taken to safeguard the lives of the citizens, he asserted. Usman Buzdar said that 390 confirm corona cases have been surfaced and 9 patients died during the last 24 hours. Death tool has been reached to 2438 in Punjab. 13545 tests have been conducted during the last 24 hours. Number of active corona patients have reached 8092. 1714383 tests have been conducted so far. 97672 out of 108221 patients have been recovered from coronavirus so far, he concluded.