Limited business activities to continue: PM

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday rejected the Sindh government's recommendation to impose a "complete lockdown" across the country for two weeks as he said that limited business activities would continue as usual.

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah had earlier said the government should impose a "complete lockdown" across the country for two weeks to stem the spread of the virus. Reacting to his comments, the prime minister said Pakistan cannot afford a complete lockdown, adding that the measure would adversely impact daily wage earners across the country.

He said, for the time being, the government will impose smart lockdowns across the country, adding that it was imperative to exercise even more caution during the third wave of the coronavirus.

Pakistan reported 4,757 cases and 78 deaths due to the coronavirus in the last 24 hours. As per the NCOC, 43,965 tests were conducted across Pakistan out of which 4,757 were positive making the positivity ratio 10.8 percent.

Meanwhile, the national tally of positive cases has climbed to 667,957, with Sindh leading in the most number of cases with 265,433. Punjab has reported 220,392 cases, 87,055 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 57,833 in Islamabad, 19,557 in Balochistan, 12,663 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 5,024 in Gilgit Baltistan.

Prime Minister Imran Khan Wednesday expressed concern over the negligence of people in implementing the coronavirus-related Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) but said a complete lockdown could not be afforded.Chairing a meeting of the National Coordination Committee for COVID-19 here through video link, he emphasised that people should strictly observe SOPs and said that the policy of smart lockdown would continue, as a complete lockdown, as proposed by Sindh could not be implemented, it was learnt.

He contended that the strategy for dealing with the third wave of corona and controlling the pandemic must be formulated keeping in view the economic situation of the country and the plight of the people in particular.

The prime minister maintained that the most effective strategy to combat the third wave of corona was to control the pandemic that spread rapidly by using masks. The premier said that experience from around the world has shown that the use of masks has been the most effective in preventing the corona pandemic.

The prime minister was given a detailed briefing on the state of corona outbreak in the country, the rate of positive cases, availability of vaccine to the public and the steps being taken to ensure adequate availability of vaccine in the near future.

The forum was also briefed on the situation in the region after the third wave of corona. The prime minister said that a comprehensive awareness campaign should be launched to ensure implementation of corona SOPs.

He said that the poorest people are most affected by the epidemic. “The whole of our strategy is to provide relief to the poor and protect them from the negative effects of the plague,” he said.

The prime minister said, “We have to adopt a policy of balance so that where the epidemic can be effectively prevented, the poor man and the country's economy are least affected.” The PM said that the last wave of corona affected the employment of 20 million people in Pakistan alone. He said that the Ehsas Emergency Cash Programme provided effective relief to the poor.

The provincial chief ministers and officials briefed the prime minister on the situation in their respective provinces. The prime minister directed all the provincial governments to ensure effective role of the district administration in mobilising the people for the implementation of corona SOPs.

Earlier, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah suggested to the National Coordination Committee (NCOC) to impose a ban on inter-city transport for next two weeks to contain the dangerous third wave of coronavirus, otherwise the situation may aggravate further.

The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Imran Khan. The chief minister along with his team, Minister for Health Dr Azra Pechuho, Law Adviser Law Murtaza Wahab, Parliamentary secretary Health Qasim Siraj Soomro, Additional Chief Secretary Home Usman Chachar, Additional IG Karachi Ghulam Nabi Memon, Principal Secretary ti CM Sajid Jamal Abro attended the meeting via video link from CM House.

The CM said that the third wave of coronavirus was very dangerous and was spreading furiously. “Though it is not as intense in Sindh as it is in other parts of the country, particularly in AJK, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Punjab and federal capital, yet we have to take some drastic measures to contain it,” he said.

Mr Shah suggested that the NCC impose a ban on the movement of inter-city transport for next two weeks and during that time the goods transport would continue their operation as usual. “The third wave [of COVID) is very dangerous and has started spreading fast, therefore a ban on inter-city transport would help to contain it,” he suggested to the NCC.

The CM was assured that his suggestion would be discussed in the National Command & Operation Center (NCOC) meeting to be held on Thursday. Shah said that the business centres used to operate under the SOPs so that local business activities continue as usual under strict compliance of the precautionary steps.

Murad Ali Shah also urged the federal government to start registering all the people of the province for vaccination. “We have to make necessary arrangements for procurement of COVID vaccine in bulk so that each and every individual of this country can be secured,” he said.

He also informed the meeting that the Infectious Disease Hospital established by him Karachi for the treatment of COVID -19 patients had serving its purpose very well. “Our overall detection rate of COVID patients is 3.5 percent – this shows that we, the province of Sindh, are less affected but the travelling of the people in and from Sindh is bound to aggravate the situation,” he told the PM.

Meanwhile, the Sindh government has banned all marriage functions — both indoors and outdoors — with effect from April 6, and introduced a new set of coronavirus restrictions till April 11.

The provincial government has sprung into action as the third wave of the coronavirus intensifies and over four thousands cases are being reported on a daily basis across the country.