Surge in coronavirus cases: SAPM warns govt will impose strict restrictions

ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Faisal Sultan has said that imposing strict restrictions in the country was unavoidable in order to deal with the increasing coronavirus cases and deaths across the country.

Talking to media here on Wednesday, Dr Sultan said that a few weeks ago, 400-500 cases were being reported across the country on a daily basis. The tally, he said, had shot up to 700-750 cases of the infection per day. "The coronavirus death rate has increased in the country," Dr Sultan said, adding that that the positivity ratio had surged to 2.5-2.75 percent.

Dr Sultan said that the masses were not adhering to the coronavirus precautions as they should given the pandemic was still far from over. Now, Pakistan is entering a phase where we need to tighten coronavirus curbs, the PM's aide said, adding that an official plan would be formulated soon. "Our focus is tightening coronavirus restrictions and will be more on the cities and areas where the positivity ratio of the virus is high," Dr Sultan said.

The SAPM said that authorities were mulling over several plans and recommendations to impose restrictions to stem the spread of the virus. "We urge local administrations to implement coronavirus SOPs," he said, and warned that the government would impose a fine on people who did not follow coronavirus SOPs in public places.

The special assistant said that business timings across the country might be reduced in light of the growing cases of the pandemic. He said that business timings that were in place during the pandemic might be restored again.

He said that the government was mulling over setting up a hotline, so that the citizens could inform authorities when coronavirus SOPs were being violated. "Restrictions are hard on the people and no government wishes to impose them," he said, adding that if people followed coronavirus safety measures, Pakistan could beat this wave as well. "Further details will be disclosed after deliberations with all the provinces," Dr Sultan added.

Pakistan has recorded 329,375 coronavirus cases, 6,745 deaths, and 311,440 recoveries from the pandemic, according to official statistics.

Sindh has registered 335 new cases of the coronavirus over the past 24 hours, taking the provincial tally to 144,449, according to Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah. Five more people lost their lives from the virus, with Sindh's overall death toll rising to 2,604. A total of 8,860 tests were carried out during the last 24 hours in Sindh, Shah said.

Punjab has reported 207 coronavirus cases and one death during the last 24 hours. The provincial total has risen to 103,082, while the death toll is 2,336.

Islamabad registered 169 new Covid-19 cases and one death. According to District Health Officer Islamabad total coronavirus cases in the federal capital have reached 19,181, while deaths have reached 213.

Gilgit-Baltistan reported 11 new Covid-19 cases taking the tally to 4,191 of which 91 have died. Azad Jammu and Kashmir reported three more coronavirus cases taking the tally to 3,849 of which 86 have died.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020