LAHORE: The Punjab government has commenced a five-day anti-polio campaign on Monday in 36 districts of the province, during which 20 million children of less than five years of age will be administered anti-polio drops.
Around 120,000 polio workers will take part in the campaign in the next five days.
In this connection, Punjab Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar, in a statement said that the polio workers will aim to achieve hundred percent target while observing coronavirus standard operating procedures (SOPs).
“I have asked the parliamentarians to play their role and monitor the working of polio teams in their constituencies. Making Punjab a polio-free province is the commitment of the government and collective efforts are needed to be utilized effectively to achieve this target,” he said.
The CM also said that the line departments will ensure coordinated efforts to give desired results, as there is no room for any negligence.
“The parents should also ensure to get their children vaccinated since it is a collective responsibility to overcome the deadly disease,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Lahore district administration started the campaign, which aims to vaccinate 1.9 million children in the district. The administration has arranged security for the 5400 polio teams participating in the campaign.
On the first day of the campaign, District Commissioner Lahore Mudassar Riaz administered polio drops to children at Qila Gujar Singh Union Council and on the occasion, reviewed the performance of polio workers.
He urged the polio workers to strictly follow the SOPs while performing their duties.
On the occasion, while talking to newsmen, the DC said that a smart lockdown has been imposed in 40 areas of the city, but vaccination of children in the areas will continue. He appealed to the people for full cooperation in difficult situations like the Covid-19 pandemic.
Talking about marriage halls, he said that at present marriage functions with restriction of 300 people and outdoors is permitted, but it will be reviewed with the change of situation.
“In the last 14 days, 11,000 people have tested positive for the virus; it is a serious condition that must be addressed,” he added.
He also said that public transport has also been requested to shut down so that the SOPS could be implemented.
He observed that in these testing times everyone needs to show responsible behaviour and fully cooperate with the government.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2021
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