Corona can spike again if people showed carelessness: Shibli

ISLAMABAD: Minister for Information and Broadcasting Senator Shibli Faraz said Sunday that owing to prudent strategy, the coronavirus pandemic was in control but was still here and could witness spike, if public repeated the carelessness witnessed on Eidul Fitr.

He contended that the government had adopted a balanced strategy to cope with the challenge of coronavirus pandemic effectively and ensure the wheel of economic kept moving and people got livelihood.

Speaking here at a news conference along with Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Digital Pakistan Tania Aidrus and Focal Person to PM on COVID-19 Dr Faisal Sultan, the minister said Pakistan introduced smart lockdown policy to save precious lives and livelihood of the people.

The minister maintained the Pakistani model on the virus was being replicated in many countries in the world. He urged masses to strictly observe social distancing and necessary SOPs to keep the pandemic under control. He paid tributes to the NCOC, doctors, nurses, paramedic staff, district administration for their key role in reversing the virus trend.

Replying to questions, the minister said that the elite class was the same, which would agree to decisions at the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) and then play politics outside. “They are the representatives of the elite class, who has looted and plundered Pakistan and now their generations could survive without doing anything for long but the common man can’t affords lockdown,” he noted.

He went on to allege they (the elite class) wished and prayed for the pandemic to play havoc with the national economy and people’s lives but the heroes of Pakistan not only saved people but also the economy from the worst impact, which many developed states experienced.

Shibli pointed out that Prime Minister Imran Khan from day one, had the opinion that Pakistan could not afford complete lockdown policy due to ground realities, being so different from other countries. He continued that many countries that had observed strict lockdown to stop spread of this global epidemic were now facing economic hardships and rising death toll.

Shibli Faraz said the NCOC played a vital role and managed the situation scientifically with analysing data on daily basis, keeping in view the statistics and the evolving situation.

He noted that at the time of Eidul Fitr, the cases of coronavirus had spiked for people thronged markets and shopping malls without adopting social distancing practice and other SOPs. He added that the pandemic was in control but it was still prevalent and carelessness might prove costly.

The minister made an appeal to the masses to adopt SOPs on the occasion of Eidul Azha, as it was necessary to defeat the pandemic, which was presently in control.

The minister contended that those supporting complete lockdown did not have the moral courage to accept the fact that the prime minister's strategy had paid the dividends. Having full cognisance of problems of the weak segments of the society, he added that various unprecedented steps were taken to mitigate their sufferings and save them from financial crisis.

Meanwhile, Shibli Faraz said the massive construction project, Naya Pakistan Housing initiative, would kick start the economy and create jobs.

He tweeted, “First time ever a massive construction project, Naya Pakistan Housing initiative, unleashed by the government to enable affordable housing & facilitate construction industry through different incentives. This initiative will also kick start economy & create jobs.”

News Desk adds: Prime Minister Imran Khan's focal person on COVID-19 Dr Faisal Sultan Sunday rejected the notion that Pakistan was carrying out testing far lower than its capacity "under some conspiracy or design". In a post-press conference question/answer session here alongside Federal Information and Broadcasting Minister Shibli Faraz and the premier's aide on Digital Pakistan Tania Aidrus, Dr Sultan said a lower testing rate was being witnessed due to "reduction in symptoms being witnessed in people".

"When the spread was more rapid, we carried out a greater number of tests," he said, reports the media.

Dr Sultan said during mid-June, there was an average of more than 32,000 tests conducted daily. In the last 24 hours, 23,000 tests were carried out, he said.

Asked what the current testing capacity for the country was, he said Pakistan was currently capable of carrying out testing in excess of 50,000 tests a day, which could further be ramped up to 75,000 if need be.

He said there was no "grand master" who could move the number of tests up or down.

"There are 102 labs operating all across the country, which are carrying out testing more under the contact tracing mechanism now.”

He said the demand was "based on symptoms or perceived need" and that "health-seeking behaviour could obviously affect testing numbers".

Dr Sultan said the current situation was much better than what the country was faced with three months back and appreciated the federal agencies and provincial governments for their collaborative efforts to fight the spread of contagious disease in the country.

"Ask any hospital or medical facility. Coronavirus cases have declined drastically," he said.

"This is the way the cookie crumbles."

Earlier, while addressing the media briefing, Aidrus said with effective implementation of coronavirus strategies, Pakistan now had "a single-digit" positivity rate for the disease, which was an accomplishment for the government and the people who abided by standard operating procedures. She did not specify what the exact rate currently was.

The premier's aide underscored that "long-term measures were taken instead of temporary steps to stem the rapid spread of coronavirus, due to which positive cases have seen a noticeable decline".

Aidrus said decision-making was focused on not only equipping the country to deal with the current pandemic, but also any other pandemic that came along.

She stressed that the country needed a strategy that would simultaneously keep the economy afloat and the pandemic at bay.

"We couldn't do millions of tests a day, so we had to come up with a testing strategy. Therefore, we introduced the Testing, Tracing, and Quarantine Strategy (TTQ) that enabled us in controlling the mushrooming numbers of coronavirus," she said.

She credited the National Operation Control Centre (NCOC) which recommended strategies on the basis of projections when the government did not have adequate data for the disease and also highlighted the cooperation by provinces in the fight against COVID-19.

Lauding Prime Minister Imran Khan for his far-sighted policies for coronavirus, Faraz said the battle against COVID-19 was "far more dangerous and difficult to tackle than most war situations".

"Some of our 'friends' insisted on a complete lockdown but Imran Khan adopted such a strategy that life went on even during the lockdown," he said, adding that "now the policies of the government are implemented by the countries around the world".

The minister went on to add that about Rs160 billion had been distributed under the banner of Ehsaas Programme to aid families financially impacted by the virus.