Multidimensional strategy adopted to deal with coronavirus pandemic: Punjab CM

The Chief Minister of Punjab, Sardar Usman Buzdar, said on Saturday that the government has adopted a multidimensional strategy to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, and decisions have been taken collectively under the leadership of Prime Minister Imran Khan.

"Protection and safety lies in strictly following the policy of social distancing, and the spread of the coronavirus can only be minimized when people would prefer to stay at home," the CM said.

"The government is minutely monitoring the situation occurring due to the coronavirus. That is why the lockdown has been eased after realizing the circumstances and economic hardships of the common man," he added.

The chief minister said that the coronavirus pandemic threat was still alive, and, therefore, we would all have to responsibly adopt precautionary measures.

Failure in complying with the SOPs will result in legal action, he added.

He said people would have to act in a responsible way on the guidelines issued by the government to cope with the coronavirus pandemic.

"The safer citizens will be from corona, the more they will act responsibly. The people should not do away with the precautionary measures to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Protect yourself and others from corona by staying at home," the CM added.

Usman Buzdar appealed to the people not to go out unnecessarily since less interaction would ensure less spread of the disease. He said that every step of the government was being taken for the betterment of the people of the province.

Meanwhile, Punjab Governor Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar, while talking to media after inaugurating the Coronavirus Testing Lab at ABWA Hospital, said the PTI government is taking all decisions in consultation with its allied parties, including the PML-Q.

"The PTI government had not instituted any case against any opposition political party's leadership, and all cases being preceded by NAB and accountability institutions actually instituted by the opposition parties against each other," he said, adding: "We believe in transparent and across-the-board accountability and ensured that all accountability institutions should stay apolitical." The governor said the government decided to ease lockdown restrictions and open markets to mitigate the economic problems of traders, workers and daily-wage earners.

However, this did not mean that the threat of the coronavirus had receded, he said.

"The government is introducing policies in the best interest of people and standing with the poor masses in these hard times," he said.

Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid chaired a meeting to review the corona pandemic situation at the Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Department here on Saturday.

The minister said that in view of increasing number of COVID-19 cases in Punjab, the status of ICUs, High Dependency Units, ventilators, life saving medicines and other facilities is being completely reviewed. She said that softening of lockdown did not mean that the coronavirus pandemic had ended. She said, "We will have to be very careful about the spread of the disease now. The government is taking all out measures to ensure safety and wellbeing of the people, and all available resources are being utilized for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. We have to win this battle at any cost. The private sector must be alerted to remain prepared for any kind of emergency situation."