ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday appealed to the people to fully adhere to the standard operating procedures (SOPs) announced by the government on coronavirus during the coming Eidul Azha and Muharram

Speaking to media from the state-owned television, the prime minister forewarned the people that if precautionary measures were not adopted during

Eidul Azha and Muharram, the country might face another spike of coronavirus cases.

He said that the world was learning from coronavirus and was trying to understand its dynamic of spread and deaths in various countries, and had realised that where precautionary measures were not fully observed, the coronavirus had resurged.

He said that, "We need to learn from the global experience and resurgence in coronavirus would have serious ramification on the economy."

"We should not repeat the mistake of the first Eid (Eidul Fitr) during this Eid [Eidul Azha] and [during] Muhararam. I will ask everyone to wear face mask as this is very easy way to reduce the virus and try to have online sacrifice," he added,

The government would consider opening of restaurants, marriage halls, tourism etc, if results remained positive after Eid and would also consider opening of schools and universities, if the people followed SOPs, and the situation was under control in terms of coronavirus after Eid.

The premier said that the Pakistan had been among the few countries that had controlled the pandemic and the deaths were lowest in three months.

The prime minister said that there was considerably less pressure in the hospitals with the decline in coronavirus cases in the country, and stated that the policy of smart lockdown had started yielding positive results as it was done very effectively.

The prime minister said that his government was the first one that understood that Pakistan's situation was different from China and Europe because a large numbers of people lived in Pakistan in poverty,

and informal economy employed daily wagers and labour.

The government did not impose lockdown on the agriculture sector because of food supply, and its decision to open the construction sector was strongly criticised.

He again stated that those countries where complete lockdown was imposed, suffered dearly and number of poor people rose after the strict lockdown.

The prime minister also mentioned that how the government had been successful in reaching out to the poor thorough Ehsaas Programme during the pandemic, and disbursed highest ever amount through a transparent manner in a very short time.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020