–Mirza urges social distancing as Pakistan’s corona tally crosses 5,200
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Health Dr Zafar Mirza said at least 50 per cent of the new coronavirus cases were due to local transmission, urging people to restrict social contact to flatten the curve.
Pakistan’s coronavirus cases continued to surge throughout the day as the provinces reported more cases. As of Sunday, 11 pm, there were 5,230 total cases, with 4,111 active cases and 1,028 recoveries. The death toll stood at 91. Punjab’s tally stood at 2,464, Sindh 1,411, Khyber Pakthunkhwa (KP) 744, Balochistan 228, ICT 119, GB 224 and AJK 40.
Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad, he said, “The last 24 hours were heavy, 14 people died. We warned you this would happen,” and added that this was why the government was emphasising on the importance of social distancing, staying at home and ensuring proper hand hygiene.”
“Coronavirus is a preventable problem and its spread can be stopped if we take proper preventive measures,” he added
Talking about the coronavirus situation in the country, Mirza said that nearly half of Pakistan’s cases were locally transmitted. He revealed that some 17,332 people were present in quarantine centres across the country out of which 18 per cent tested positive.
Dr Mirza said that important decisions regarding the future strategy will be announced by the prime minister after the meeting of the National Coordination Committee (NCC) on Monday.
He said that National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) will issue a video to disseminate public information regarding the precautionary measures. He also said that coronavirus has so far killed more than 100,000 people worldwide with and the infections have crossed 1.7 million.
The special assistant said there have been reports of misuse of protective clothing and N-95 masks by ordinary people. He said that the frontline health workers are most eligible for these masks and other people should avoid using these.
