-Rules out complete lockdown
-Appeals masses to avoid gatherings
-NCOC sets new restrictions
-Complete ban on marriages from April 5 in Covid hotspots
-Passenger trains likely to halt services for three weeks
-Infections rate recorded at 10.4%
-4,767 new cases, 57 deaths reported
By Ajmal Khan Yousafzai
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday once again ruled the closure of businesses and other economic activities in the country amid the third Covid-19 wave.
“We are not in a position to impose another country-wide lockdown, but we can take precautions by wearing masks and following government-set SOPs,” said the premier in a video message.
PM Khan said that the third wave of coronavirus was more lethal as compared to the previous two waves. He said the third wave in Pakistan is the spread of the UK strain as the new strain of the COVID-19 was more transmissible than the original.
He said that the authorities were “worried” about increasing pressure on hospitals and medical staff due to the spike in cases.
Prime Minister Imran Khan said that he and the first lady have gone through the COVID-19 ordeal but with the blessings of Allah Almighty they remained safe. PM Imran Khan said, “I exercised precaution for a whole year and avoided weddings and private gatherings and practiced social distancing.”
PM said that he did not exercise caution during Senate elections and so infected with the coronavirus. “In the Senate election, I did not exercise as much caution and so caught the virus.”
Prime Minister Imran Khan has appealed to the people to avoid gatherings and cooperate with the government and take precautions. The third wave of COVID-19 is more severe than the previous ones, therefore we should strictly adhere to the SOPs, including wearing masks and avoiding gatherings as we did in the past, he added.
Earlier in the day, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) decided to ban wedding ceremonies from April 5 onwards in cities and districts where the positivity rate is above 8 per cent, as part of new restrictions to contain the third wave of the novel coronavirus in Pakistan.
Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar chaired the session which was attended by the chief secretaries of all four provinces via video link. In the meeting, the NCOC decided the ban would extend to both indoor and outdoor weddings, however, “provinces will be at liberty to implement restrictions in [an] early time frame as per the situation on ground”.
The new set of restrictions comes as Pakistan finds itself in the grips of a third coronavirus wave. Pakistan recorded more than 4,000 cases for a third straight day on Sunday with 4,767 new coronavirus cases and 57 deaths in the last 24 hours. This marks the highest single-day increase since June 21, 2020. The current spike was again led by Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Islamabad with 2,823, 979 and 538 new cases, respectively.
The country-wide breakdown of new cases is as follows: Punjab: 2,823, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: 979, Islamabad: 538, Sindh: 252, Azad Jammu and Kashmir: 122, Balochistan: 44, Gilgit Baltistan: 9. Umar said the decision to tighten restrictions was taken keeping in mind the “continuing increase in disease spread and the fast pace at which hospital fill up is taking place”, particularly pointing to the increase in cases of critical Covid patients.
He said the provincial chief secretaries had been instructed to ensure compliance of Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) and urged people to “cooperate with the administration as they are enforcing these SOPs for safeguarding us”.
Along with weddings, all kinds of indoor and outdoor gatherings were also banned with immediate effect. This order includes all social, cultural, political, sports gatherings and other events. Options were also considered to restrict inter-provincial transport but the final decision on this will be taken after “input from provinces and analysis of data regarding number of inter-provincial commuters via air, rail and road”.
Additionally, provinces were urged to ensure timely completion of inoculation targets set by the NCOC and timely uploading and registering of data in the National Immunisation Management System an online portal that serves as the “brain” of the vaccination process. The NCOC will also provide updated maps with Covid hotspots to the provinces for the “enforcement of expanded lockdowns with effect from March 29 (Monday)”.
Umar warned Saturday after a session of the NCOC that Pakistan’s coronavirus situation could soon cross levels seen during the first wave in June last year.
“If the increase continues at this rate, then in the next few days or next week, we will go beyond the level and peak we saw in the first wave in June and you all must remember what the situation was at the time,” he had said.
The federal minister had appealed to the people, sections of society, religious scholars and the media to play their role in containing the pandemic and also called upon the political leadership for help. “It is my request to all the political leadership whether ours or the opposition that this is the time to show leadership and spread this message that we have to once again combat this disease which is spreading and defend our people.” Train services: Amid rising number of Covid-19 cases, the federal government was considering suspending the operation of all passenger trains throughout the country.
According to details, Pakistan Railways will allow 50 percent occupancy of passengers instead of 100% occupancy in trains from March 30. Currently, passenger trains are running with 70 percent occupancy throughout the country as per the new restrictions imposed by the NCOC in the wake of the third wave of the pandemic.
