COVID-19 in Pakistan: PM Imran Khan elated over The Economist ranking

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan Wednesday commended the performance of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the Ehsaas team for their effective and coordinated response during the COVID-19 pandemic, which gained recognition by the UK-based ‘The Economist’ in its report.

The premier appreciated the three departments of the government and expressed gratitude to Allah Almighty for His blessings.

“Congratulations to NCOC members, Ehsaas team & State Bank of Pakistan for effective response to COVID-19 pandemic; and above all thanks to the mercy of Almighty Allah,” he said in a message on Twitter.

In its Global Normalcy Index, The Economist magazine had ranked Pakistan at number three out of 50 countries that performed well in controlling the COVID-19 spread.

The report showed that Pakistan’s neighbours, India and China, were ranked 48 and 19 with scores of 46.5 and 72.9 respectively. The United States stood at 20th in the ranking.

The Economist’s ‘normalcy index’ focuses on how better the countries are returning to their pre-pandemic levels, by grading each country using eight indicators: Time not at home, retail, office use, public transport, road traffic, flights, cinema and sports attendance.

According to the report, a rise was witnessed in the global normalcy during March 2020 due to several countries imposing lockdowns.

With 100 set as the pre-pandemic level of activity, Pakistan ranked third with 84.4 out of 100. Hong Kong topped the list with a ranking of 96.3 while New Zealand was ranked second with 87.8.

In the category of ‘office use’, ‘retail’, ‘public transport’ and ‘time not spent at home’, Pakistan ranked over 100. However, the categories of ‘cinema’ and ‘flights’ witness a low score.