–153 people die of Covid-19 in 24 hours while 6,604 new cases surface across the country
–Asad Umar says authorities to should issue notification to protect employees under lockdown
ISLAMABAD: As many as 153 people lost their lives while battling against coronavirus during the last 24 hours, making it the highest count in a single day till the spread of the virus in the country, said National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Saturday.
Meanwhile, after five days of declining cases, 6,604 new coronavirus cases surfaced in the country over the last 24 hours, taking the total tally to 171,666.
The NCOC said that 63,504 Covid-19 patients have recovered so far across Pakistan making it a significant count since the pandemic spread.
As of Saturday, there were 64,216 cases in Punjab, 65,163 in Sindh, 20,790 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 9,162 in Balochistan, 10,279 in Islamabad, 1,253 in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and 803 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK). However, active Covid-19 cases in the country are 104,780.
So far, 3,382 deaths have been recorded since the contagion first emerged in the country, wherein 1,013 have been reported from Sindh, 1,347 from Punjab, 789 from KP, 95 from Islamabad, 100 from Balochistan, 21 from GB and 17 deaths have been reported from AJK.
The forum noted that a total of coronavirus 31,681 tests were carried out during the last 24 hours. A total of 1,042,787 tests have been conducted so far and 810 hospitals are equipped with Covid-19 facilities with 6,980 patients admitted across the country.
According to NCOC, there is no patient on ventilator in Balochistan and GB. It added that around 549 ventilators were currently occupied across the country.
Separately, Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar suggested that the provincial governments should issue notification to private corporations and offices to avoid taking any punitive action against employees living in smart lockdown restricted areas for not attending the offices.
The planning minister, who also heads the NCOC, said this during a meeting on Saturday. He said that efforts and measures taken to contain the pandemic outbreak would show results after 15 days while the provincial governments should make strict compliance with measures adopted.
The NCOC was apprised by the provincial chief secretaries of standard operating procedures’ (SOPs) compliance and smart lockdowns implemented across the country.
The meeting reviewed the update of targeted smart lockdowns implemented across the country, decisions and action points of NCC, oxygen and cylinders import and quantity finalization vis-a-vis disease projections and need assessment of critical medical equipment.
The KP chief secretary said that around 500,000 people are restricted under the smart lockdowns implemented where the major focus is on urban areas, including Peshawar, Malakand, Swat, Haripur, Nowshera and Mardan. There was no activity or increased risk of coronavirus outbreak in other seven districts, including Kohistan and Upper Chitral.
The Punjab chief secretary said that around eight main cities are under lockdown and less than a million population is restricted. He added that there was over 80 per cent compliance of wearing masks in public places. Strict enforcement drive is going on and as many as 12,000 transport vehicles were fined for violating SOPs and health guidelines, he further said.
The Sindh chief secretary told the forum that almost 24 districts with five million people are restricted under smart lockdown.
The AJK chief secretary said that a total of 59 smart lockdowns are imposed in the valley where SOPs compliance has been improved. He added that the district administration is providing free masks to masses on violation of SOPs.
The GB chief secretary informed the forum that the deputy commissioners in the provinces are authorised to lock down the areas reporting maximum coronavirus patients. He added that the general public is complying with the SOPs.
