-NCOC exclusive session convened today with Punjab & KP CMs
-Health emergency imposed in Lahore
-ECC approves Rs one billion TSG for COVID awareness campaign
By Uzma Zafar
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has recorded more than 4,000 coronavirus cases in a day for the first time since July, driven by a spike in infections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as the country battles the third wave of the virus.
According to the government’s database for tracking the spread of the coronavirus, Pakistan reported 4,368 cases in the last 24 hours, up from 3,946 a day earlier. This is the highest single-day caseload recorded since July 2, 2020, when the country detected 4,432 infections during the first wave.
The majority of the new cases were reported in Punjab which accounted for 2,451 (56.1 per cent) of the tally. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa also saw a jump in new cases, confirming 890 infections compared to Thursday’s 583 – an increase of 52pc. In the same time period, the country recorded 63 fatalities from the virus, the majority of which, 43 (68.2pc), were confirmed in Punjab.
Meanwhile, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) shared data regarding oxygenated hospital beds and ventilator occupancy in various cities of the country, depicting a ire situation in many cities of Punjab.
According to the data, Multan has the highest ventilator occupancy at 65pc, followed by Islamabad at 62pc, Gujranwala at 60pc and Lahore at 54pc. There are no patients on ventilators in Balochistan, AJK and GB, the NCOC said. More than 95pc of oxygen beds at hospitals in Gujrat are occupied, followed by Gujranwala (85pc), Peshawar (73pc) and Islamabad (49pc).
Lockdowns, restrictions
In view of the alarming rise in coronavirus cases in Lahore, the health department has imposed a citywide health emergency.
The health department has alerted the MS of all hospitals in Lahore and directed that MS offices of all hospitals remain open 24 hours a day.
The administrative offices of all the hospitals will be open all week while the Saturday and Sunday holidays of Department of Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education’s essential staff have been canceled.
As the number of cases rose in the province, the Punjab government imposed smart lockdown in 11 areas of Rawalpindi, Gujranwala and Sialkot.
On the other hand, the KP government announced that markets in the province would remain closed on Fridays and Saturdays.
Earlier this week, the NCOC had decided to enforce a number of new restrictions for cities where the positivity rate was more than eight per cent.
The forum had voiced “grave concern” over the current situation of the coronavirus in Pakistan and “unanimously agreed” upon a number of high-impact interventions in cities and districts where the three-day rolling positivity rate average was over 8pc.
These restrictions will remain in effect till April 11 while a review will be held on April 7.
The NCOC also decided to shut down all educational institutes in areas with a high incidence of Covid-19, including Islamabad till April 11.
Earlier this month, the NCOC had announced a two-week spring vacation in educational institutions in 10 cities of Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Kashmir and Islamabad from March 15 till March 28.
A Special NCOC session under Chairperson NCOC will be convened on Saturday in the wake of alarmingly rising disease trend specially in Punjab, KP and ICT.CM Punjab, CM KP and Commissioner ICT are invited to attend the session via video link. Provincial Chief Secretaries, Health Secretaries and Home Secretaries will also join the session.Agenda includes discussion on rising disease trend, implementation status of high impact interventions and state of critical medical facilities including oxygenated beds, vents and other facilities.
COVID awareness campaign: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet Friday approved Rs one billion Technical Supplementary Grant (TSG) for launching awareness campaign to inform and educate people, particularly during the third wave of COVID-19.
“The ECC considered and approved a Technical Supplementary Grant regarding allocation of funds amounting to Rs one billion for launching advertisement campaigns by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MOIB) to inform and educate people particularly during the third wave of COVID-19 for the public good,” said a press statement issued by the Finance Ministry here.
The ECC meeting was chaired by Federal Minister for Finance and Revenue Dr. Abdul Hafeez Shaikh, the statement added.
