Philippines advised to learn from Pakistan in Covid-19 fight

MANILA: A business risk consultancy firm said the Philippines may look at the efforts done by Pakistan in its fight against COVID-19 that become successful in improving the pandemic situation, international media reported.

PSA Philippines Consultancy Inc. Director for Business Intelligence Greg Wyatt said the Philippines and Pakistan have in common in terms of number of vulnerable people, growth inequality, and limited healthcare, but despite these challenges, Pakistan has managed to bring down the number of daily COVID-19 cases.

“If you’re looking for a country as an example, it may be possible that we can learn something from Pakistan. The situations are sort of analogous,” he said in a webinar of Nordic Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines (NordCham) Wednesday.

He said Pakistani government manages the COVID-19 situation through targeted testing and lockdowns. “Pakistan does not go back to large scale lockdowns, only localised lockdowns and testing where coronavirus hotspot, and all that appears to have worked very well,” he added.

Wyatt added Pakistan was able bring down the number of daily cases while maintaining the positive rate low. He said the Philippine government is currently doing the targeted lockdowns and testing, however, it is yet to know if it will be able to replicate Pakistan’s results.