ISLAMABAD: In the backdrop of Covid-19 unleashing devastation across the country, Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said he himself has started monitoring the situation to ensure strict implementation of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) as preventive measures against coronavirus, and shut down those entities/areas where SOPs are violated.
"I am monitoring the situation from Prime Minister's Office. I am receiving the reports from the provinces regarding SOPs' implementation. I have reports regarding SOPs' implementation in mosques, offices, parks, shopping malls, markets, industry and public transport - from the provinces. Action would be taken against the SOPs violators identified in these reports," the PM said in his live address to the nation along with his cabinet members.
Corona Relief Tiger Force with its strength of one million members would monitor the implementation of SOPs, he said.
The PM also announced that a special package would be launched for the health workers fighting against Covid-19 countrywide. "I extend my gratitude to our health workers. I want to tell them, you are following the path of Allah and leading our battle against this deadly pandemic," he said adding that the special package would be introduced soon but did not elaborate on the details.
In addition, the PM said, data managers would be deployed at all the hospitals throughout the country for scientific and updated monitoring of coronavirus.
Detailing the steps federal government took to combat the pandemic, Khan said when coronavirus had initially surfaced in Pakistan, there were only two testing laboratories compared to 160 functioning presently. Pakistan initially had the capacity to conduct 500 Covid-19 screening tests compared to 25,000 tests being conducted every four hours and 1.2 million tests conducted monthly, the PM said.
Previously, he said, Pakistan had 2,800 ventilators compared to 4,800 now while 1,400 more ventilators have been ordered, due to arrive soon, Khan said. The country initially had 600 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds when coronavirus surfaced compared to 1,300 ICU beds presently, he said. "Still, 1.300 ICU beds are not enough but this needs to be kept into consideration that ICUs need highly trained healthcare staff on which we are working," the PM said. Some 2,000 oxygen beds would arrive in Pakistan in the coming months, out of which, 1000 would be available in the country in July, the PM said.
However, the PM cautioned that Pakistan's healthcare system would be overburdened and it would not be able to handle the pressure of rising number of Covid-19 patients if the public did not adhere to SOPs. "So far, situation is better than anticipated. We were prepared for worse. But the situation can slip out of control if we don't follow the precautions," he said.
Presently, the situation involving coronavirus in Pakistan is better than the United States and the West, he said.
"In the last more than 70 years, we did not invest in healthcare and the result is in front of you. Our elites fly abroad even if they have cough but the poor masses have to bear with this healthcare system," the PM said.
He once again put weight behind smart lockdown whiled dismissing the option of a complete lockdown. "Had complete lockdown been a solution, things would not have turned catastrophic in India where they initially shut down the country completely. And look what happened there, on one hand deprived people died of poverty and on the other hand there were disastrous economic consequences. India is now implementing what we have done here. They have realized they were wrong," PM Khan said.
He urged the nation to brave this difficult time with unity and courage. "The nations who stood firm with unity and courage to fight coronavirus and followed the SOPs, succeeded and defeated this menace. Allah willing, we would do the same. All we have to do is to stay united and follow the SOPs," the PM said.
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