ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to Prime Minister on National Health Services Dr Zafar Mirza on Sunday asked the citizens to support the government’s efforts in the fight against COVID-19 and to help it effectively implement its smart lockdown policy.
Dr Mirza, in a news briefing, said that the policy of smart lockdown could be successfully implemented if the citizens fully cooperated with the government and followed all the standard operating procedures (SOPs).
He said that the people would be informed through the media about their responsibilities and they could also visit official websites to know about the SOPs. He urged the citizens to take preventive measures against COVID-19 during the holy month of Ramzan to mitigate the pandemic in the country.
He said that there were still threats of spread of the disease and asked the citizens to continue implementing protective measures as per directions to stem the increase in coronavirus cases.
He also said that in order to create public awareness about the preventive measures during Ramzan a communication material had been prepared for the awareness of citizens.
He said that SOPs had been prepared for all the persons concerned keeping in view the prevailing disease situation and asked the citizens to read them.
He said that the coronavirus situation was better in Pakistan as compared to other countries. The government was gradually normalising the lockdown in order to give relief to the common man and poor segments of the society.
He said that initially those businesses were allowed to operate who had low chances of spreading the virus but later the government made it obligatory to follow the SOPs which were prepared to continue uninterrupted business activities.
Dr Mirza asked the citizens to strictly follow all the SOPs issued by the government, including those for shopping, for use of masks, for business activities, for quarantine and for mosques, to protect themselves against the disease.
