LAHORE: Pharmacies in Punjab are facing an acute shortage of fever and virus treatment drugs at a time when the country is facing the fifth wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has instructed the authorities to take strong action against those responsible for the shortage of medicines in the market.
Punjab Health Secretary Imran Sikandar Baloch has stated that there is no shortage of fever medicine in the province. The province now has 68.6 million pills still available in stock, he added.
As many as 7,048 more Pakistanis tested positive for Covid-19, keeping the country’s number of active cases above the 100,000 mark for the third consecutive day, the National Command and Operation Centre’s (NCOC) data showed on Monday.
The new infections, detected during the last 24 hours after 61,077 diagnostic tests were performed across the country, placed Covid-19 positivity ratio at 11.53% and confirmed case count at 1.425 million. Meanwhile, 21 coronavirus patients succumbed to the disease overnight, pushing the nationwide death toll to 29,269.
With the continuous uptick in Pakistan’s coronavirus stats, 1,423 coronavirus patients are said to be in critical condition. The NCOC has extended coronavirus curbs in the country from January 31 till February 15, as thousands continue to contract the infection amid a spread in the Omicron variant.
The forum had imposed non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) on January 19, which were to be reviewed on January 27 in light of the Covid-19 situation in the country. The restrictions for the wedding sector were already imposed till Feb 15.
While the countrywide coronavirus situation remains critical, Peshawar is currently the most affected city by the Omicron-driven fifth wave, with 39.63% Covid-19 positivity rate. Meanwhile, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Mardan reported 31.08% positivity, the second-highest across the country.
Marriyum Aurangzeb, a spokesperson for the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Sunday slammed the government over the country’s medicine shortage. The former information minister said in a tweet that the shortage of a common fever-treating tablet is “shameful” while the country is going through the fifth coronavirus pandemic wave.
She criticised the government, claiming that Prime Minister Imran Khan’s administration had cut youth employment chances, medical care for the sick, and fertiliser for farmers.
