Ag Agencies
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday said the help of the armed forces has been sought to ensure the implementation of Covid safety measures among an indifferent public he described as having “pandemic fatigue” amid a third wave surge that killed 144 people and infected 5,870 in a single day.
The Prime Minister made the announcement in a televised address after chairing a meeting of the National Coordination Committee (NCC) for Covid-19. He ruled out imposing full lockdowns in major cities as was suggested by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), but the panel revealed a raft of other measures, while urging people to wear masks and follow coronavirus standard operating procedures (SOPs).
The development came as Covid-19 cases surged to 84,976, with some 5,534 patients admitted in hospitals across the country. Among the admissions, 4,652 were deemed to be in critical condition, while 562 were on ventilators. Total cases stood at 784,108 and the death toll was 16,842.
The Prime Minister warned that if the surge in Covid-19 cases continued, the government would be compelled to impose lockdown in big cities. “If the required precautions are not taken, we will have to go for a lockdown. The economy, business and industry, all will suffer and the segment most affected will be our poor people,” he said.
The Prime Minister urged the masses to adopt preventive measures so that the situation remained under control and the lockdown could be avoided. He regretted that the people were not observing SOPs as they did during the first wave. “If the people act the same way as they did last year, we can address the situation in a better way,” he said, and added that Pakistan was the only country that did not close its mosques during the last Ramadan.
However, he pointed out that this time, the “majority of people are not careful and are not observing SOPs”. He said no doubt there was “pandemic fatigue”, but stressed the need to enforce strict implementation. The Prime Minister said the help of the Pakistan Army had also been sought which will support the law enforcement agencies in ensuring compliance with the SOPs.
The Prime Minister mentioned the critical situation in India where the country witnessed a severe shortage of vaccines across the country and warned Pakistan could have a similar situation “within two weeks” if the situation persists.
“Even the vaccination started at the moment will still take up to one year to get it contained,” he said, adding that in the meantime, adhering to SOPs and wearing face masks was the best prevention.
Planning minister Asad Umar in his remarks said the NCC agreed on shutting down all non-essential businesses by 6pm, while offices would operate till 2pm. He said this would allow people to go for necessary shopping. He urged women to do their Eid shopping earlier and not wait for the last week before Eid.
Umar said a new policy was in the offing for international travellers, their quarantine and vaccination procedures and said it would be announced in the few days. He said there would be strict enforcement of 50 per cent work-from-home policy and a complete ban on outdoor dining until Eid. He said there was also pressure on the country’s oxygen supply and its plants were operating at 90 per cent of their capacity. He said around 80 per cent was being used for Covid-19 patients only. The meeting also discussed how to improve oxygen supply and if needed, it would be imported. PM’s aide on Health Dr Faisal Sultan said the daily number of critical patients was over 4,000 a day, which was far higher than the previous two waves. He added that this, coupled with the 10 per cent positivity rate, reflected that the pandemic was spreading.
In some cities, he said the rate was 20 per cent or more — putting serious strain on the health system. “We have apprehensions that the situation may worsen, and then we will be forced to take tough decisions and go for a lockdown.”
