ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Faisal Sultan has said that the government is closely monitoring the oxygen demand/supply situation in the country and is trying to improve it.

Addressing a press conference here on Tuesday, Dr Sultan said that a special committee of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) was assigned to monitor the oxygen situation.

He added that the government was also working to increase the capacity of the hospitals to better deal with the Covid-19 situation.

He added that the government could also import oxygen from various countries, if needed.

"Existing oxygen plants are being monitored and we are looking at additional plants. The Pakistan Steel Mills plant was also talked about so it is being looked at. We have also diverted oxygen supply from non-essential industries."

Besides this, the NCOC was also monitoring the logistics of supplying oxygen from the plants to the hospitals, he said, adding that the forum would issue guidelines regarding oxygen usage to prevent losses.

The SAPM assured the masses of arranging required volumes of the coronavirus vaccine, saying a Covid-19 procurement plan was in place, adding that the government was not solely relying on gifts and donations for coronavirus vaccines.

He also shared that 1,200 vaccination centres have been established all over Pakistan and two million people have been inoculated so far.

Sultan once again warned that a lockdown could be imposed in various cities, if the coronavirus situation does not improve.

Sultan said misinformation was circulating regarding the government's plan regarding purchase of vaccines.

He said that the government had signed contracts with three vaccine companies to secure supplies of the Covid-19 vaccination shots.

"To say that the government is waiting to receive vaccines as gifts is incorrect," said Dr Sultan.

The SAPM explained that there was a delay in the vaccine's arrival to the country because of supply shortages across the world.

"Many countries were not able to get vaccines despite advance booking," explained Dr Sultan, giving examples of Canada and Australia.

He added that the government was also yet to receive vaccines from global alliance COVAX due to the supply chain issues.

He explained that the government had already purchased three million doses of the available vaccines till March 30.

The SAPM said that the NCOC reviews the coronavirus situation daily and receives an update on the situation of the health system in various cities.

He added that the healthcare system's capacity was increasing daily.

He urged the people to wear masks and observe social distancing and appealed to the public to observe Eid with simplicity this year.

The minister's appeal comes as Pakistan battles a severe third wave of COVID-19. Pakistan recorded over 4,400 new infections in the last 24 hours, taking the tally to 804,939 on Tuesday.

According to the NCOC, Pakistan conducted 43,981 COVID-19 tests out of which 4,487 returned positive.

With 142 new fatalities, the total coronavirus death toll in Pakistan has reached 17,329.

The highest death toll in the last 24 hours was reported in Punjab, which saw 107 deaths.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021