Army called in to help enforce Covid-19 SOPs

• Schools in districts with over 5pc positivity rate closed till Eid

• Markets to be closed by 6pm

• Indoor, outdoor dining banned till Eid

• Office timings limited to 2pm

• 50pc of staff to be allowed in offices

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Friday that the government had decided to take help of the Pakistan Army to enforce the standard operating procedures (SOPs) along with the police and the law-enforcement agencies.

While giving a briefing after chairing the National Coordination Committee on Covid-19 meeting, the prime minister said, “I have asked the Pakistan Army to help the police and the law-enforcement agencies in getting coronavirus SOPs enforced as people are not following them.”

The meeting, attended by the chief ministers of the provinces through a video link, reviewed the corona situation in the country and discussed the proposals forwarded by the provinces for taking measures to control the rapid spread of the pandemic.

While referring to India, the prime minister stated this was on the media that India had been facing shortage of oxygen, and hospitals were fully occupied, and even some people were unable to make it to the hospitals and died on the road.

“I want to appeal to everyone that if we did not take precautionary measures and followed SOPs, Pakistan would be facing a similar situation like India in a few days or maximum two weeks time,” he told the people.

The prime minister further stated that the hospitals in Pakistan had not been facing pressure so far because the government increased their capacity last year, but the way this trend of corona cases was increasing, it was very dangerous, and he appealed to the nation to follow the SOPs.

He said that the people were not paying any heed to the repeated requests by the government that if they wore masks half of the problem would be solved.

The premier said that if the people followed the SOPs from now up to Eid, the government may not be required to take the steps that have been taken by India.

“We have to lockdown the cities to curtail the spread of corona if the current trend continued,” he said and added that this was a global experience that lockdown affected the weak segment and the poor the most.

The prime minister stated that the people were asking him to impose a lockdown from today, but he was not doing so because it would affect the daily-wage earners and the poor the most.

The prime minister also warned that he was not doing so now because lockdown would affect the poor the most, but he did not know how long he would be able to resist it. “This depends on you, and if you follow the precautionary measure like last year, the lockdown can be avoided,” the prime minister added.

He said that it was unfortunate that the people did not realize the gravity of the situation, and no one was following the SOPs, and this was the precise reason that Pakistan was now facing a great danger.

“If we did not follow the SOPs, economy, shopkeepers, factories, and, most importantly, weak segment of the society and the poor would be affected the most from the lockdown,” he added.

He said that the government was trying to get vaccines from every country that could provide them, adding that even if vaccine is available, it would take one year to curb the spread, but the use of masks was the only way to deal with the spread.

While briefing about the decision taken by the NCC, Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar said the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) had been asked to prepare a plan in consultation with the provincial governments regarding saving people from difficulties in case of lockdown of cities.

He said that the meeting also decided that schools in those areas where corona cases were more than five percent would remain closed including grade 9 to grade 12.

He said that the markets would be closed after 6pm, and only shops selling essential commodities would be allowed to remain open, and their list would be released soon.

There would be a ban on outdoor dining. However, takeaways would be allowed. The office hours would be from 9am to 2pm.

The minister asked the people to do their Eid shopping during the day time as markets would not be allowed to open after 6pm, and not to leave everything on the last three to four days as there was a fear of lockdown of cities.

He said that the meeting stressed on the implementation of the policy of 50 percent work-from-home, and decided to prepare a policy in a couple of days to limit the number of arrivals from abroad and a coordinated system for their testing and quarantine.

The meeting decided to improve oxygen supply and if needed it would be imported.

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Faisal Sultan said the positivity rate was persistently over 10 percent, and the number of patients on oxygen was significantly higher in the third wave.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021