–89 deaths, 4,471 new Covid-19 cases recorded in 24 hours
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday directed officials to ensure implementation of the smart lockdown strategy by involving local community leaders as well as the volunteers of the Tiger Force.
The PM’s directions came as Pakistan confirmed 89 deaths in a single day by coronavirus, taking the nationwide tally of fatalities to 3,590, as the number of positive cases surged to 181,088.
According to the latest figures by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), 4,471 persons tested positive for Covid-19 in 24 hours. Sindh became the worst-hit province by the pandemic in terms of cases followed by Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and Balochistan. As of Monday, 69,628 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Sindh, 66,943 in Punjab, 21,997 in KP, 9,475 in Balochistan, 10,912 in Islamabad, 1,288 in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and 845 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).
Furthermore, 1,435 individuals have lost their lives to the epidemic in Punjab, 1,089 in Sindh, 821 in KP, 102 in Balochistan, 101 in Islamabad, 22 in GB and 20 in AJK.
Chairing a review meeting on the pandemic situation, the prime minister also directed for finalisation of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for Eidul Azha in consultation with the provincial governments as soon as possible.
“This time, Eidul Azha will be being celebrated under extraordinary circumstances. The current situation demands that clear SOPs should be formulated as soon as possible for the protection of the people and their strict implementation be ensured,” the prime minister said.
Imran said that implementation of the smart lockdown strategy must be ensured. He directed for involving of local leaders and the communities. He also called for seeking help from the Tiger Force to create public awareness about the lockdowns and their implementation.
The meeting discussed the overall pandemic situation, increase in the number of oxygenated beds in hospitals, demand and supply of oxygen, implementation of smart lockdown in affected areas and the arrangements for Eidul Azha.
On the occasion, the prime minister was briefed about the efforts being made to increase the number of beds reserved for Covid-19 patients in the hospitals in all the four provinces, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.
National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) Chairman Lt Gen Muhammad Afzal briefed the meeting about the supply of beds to the various hospitals in Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Islamabad. He added the beds capacity would be increased by 2,150 beds by mid-July.
The meeting also took stock of the steps being taken to meet the oxygen requirements and the implementation of smart lockdown in the identified hotspots in major cities of the country. The prime minister expressed satisfaction over the steps being taken to meet the needs of beds and oxygen.
He said that keeping in view the regional and international experience, it had become clear that the strategy adopted by the government for the prevention of coronavirus spread had yielded better results.
Earlier, a meeting of the NCOC, with Planning Minister Asad Umar in the chair, reviewed the targeted lockdown situation, need assessment of oxygen, epidemic (Epi) curve data and the update on the Resource Management System (RMS) and Pak Nigehban App.
Umar told the meeting that the aim of the targeted lockdowns was to isolate maximum Covid infected cases instead of merely restricting huge number of people. He observed that there was a positive difference seen in the urban areas with maximum compliance of wearing masks at public places.
The additional Punjab chief secretary briefed the forum that Lahore had the largest number of Covid cases for the past many days. He added that a provincial cabinet committee was going to devise the future course of action, keeping in view the new hotspots.
The KP chief secretary informed the forum that there was no administrative challenge faced yet in imposing smart lockdown. The Sindh chief secretary highlighted an under-consideration suggestion to expand smart lockdown to further hotspot areas.
The Sindh chief secretary told the forum that the notification had been issued for barring the corporate sector from taking any punitive action against the employees residing in smart lockdown areas for not attending to offices.
The Balochistan chief secretary informed the forum that the strategy and deployment plan for smart lockdown had been prepared. He added the smart lockdown would be imposed for one and a half month.
The AJK chief secretary informed the forum that four districts were under complete lockdown. The Gilgit-Baltistan chief secretary mentioned that the decentralisation strategy was successful as the deputy commissioners in their relevant districts had efficiently contained the risk of outbreak.
