Anti-polio drive kicks off across country amid rising Covid cases

ISLAMABAD: A five-day anti-polio campaign kicked off on Monday all over the country as the coronavirus infections surge.

About 150,000 health workers are taking part in the five-day anti-polio drive to inoculate 22.4 million children under five years of age, according to a statement issued by Shahzad Beg, the coordinator for polio programme. The previous campaign took place weeks ago when the country witnessed decline in the Covid-19 cases. The authorities hope the latest campaign will help make Pakistan a polio-free nation.

Pakistan for 25 years has been carrying out regular inoculation campaigns, in which the health workers go door-to-door to give the polio drops to children. Most of the workers are women, as they can get better access to mothers and children. The authorities have stepped up security for the polio teams.

The latest anti-polio drive begins amid a steady increase in the cases of coronavirus. In the past 24 hours, the country registered more than 7,000 Covid-19 cases, one of the highest number of daily infections since June 2020.

In addition, four more people succumbed to the deadly virus in the Sindh province during the last 24 hours, while 2,319 tested positive, including 1,882 in Karachi against 12,224 tests conducted, officials said.

“Five people lost their lives due to complications of Covid-19, including two in district East, one in Korangi, while two deaths were being investigated,” Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah said in his daily Covid-19 situation report. Karachi’s Covid-19 positivity rate remained at 37.23 percent on Sunday, the officials said.

Of the 2,319 people tested positive in the province for Covid-19 after 12,224 tests were conducted, 1,882 were from Karachi, adding that 830 people were tested positive in district East, 483 in South, 242 in Central, 144 in Korangi, 123 in Malir and 60 in district West. The Sindh CM said at the moment, 451 patients were under treatment at various health facilities in the province, of which the condition of 391 was said to serious, including 21 who were on ventilators.

As far as the vaccination is concerned, the chief minister said around 150,022 vaccine doses were administered to the people throughout the province in the last 24 hours, adding that so far 33,362,019 vaccine doses have been administered in the province.