‘Country cannot afford complete lockdown’

LAHORE:Governor Ch Muhammad Sarwar has said those not following SOPs are actually welcoming Corona, adding neglecting SOPs would accelerate the cases. Following SOPs can prevent spike in cases.

The governor said this during his meeting with Minister for Housing Mian Mahmood-ul-Rasheed at Governor House here on Monday. During the meeting, Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme and other administrative affairs came under discussion. Governor Ch Muhammad Sarwar and Minister Mahmood-ul-Rasheed urged the public to follow SOPs to protect themselves and their loved ones from Coronavirus.

Ch Sarwar said that unfortunately due to negligence in following SOPs, Corona is resurging, adding the whole world is grappling with this challenge right now. He warned that the whole country will have to face severe repercussions if the public neglects Coronavirus SOPs. Therefore, all the SOPs issued by the government should be followed strictly as Pakistan cannot afford to impose a complete lockdown, the governor said and termed Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme as a historic project of Prime Minister Imran Khan and said under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan, Pakistan will truly become a welfare state. None of the previous governments took any initiative for the homeless but the Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme will provide houses to the homeless across Pakistan without any political discrimination, he said.

Mahmood-ul-Rashid said the Naya Pakistan Housing Scheme is being implemented in Punjab expeditiously, adding, “We are ensuring complete transparency in its implementation.”PML-N: PML-N Punjab spokesperson Azma Bukhari has alleged that the ministers themselves were organising parties and marriage events while asking the citizens to follow the corona SOPs. In a statement issued here on Monday, she said Punjab was the only province where most medical personnel had contracted the coronavirus.

She said that the SACM told the people about the government action for violating corona SOPs, then she held a meeting and later went to a wedding at night, Azma alleged. She alleged out of a population of 110 million in Punjab, only a few thousand people were vaccinated against corona. The Pakistani nation was grateful to China for remembering the people of Pakistan in this difficult time, she said adding the PTI government had been playing corona, corona and lockdown, smart lockdown for two years, she alleged.