Asad Umar, head of Pakistan’s Anti-Coronavirus Center, said on Sunday that the ongoing lockdown has slowed the spread of infection, as the worst-hit Punjab province hit the country’s tally in cases of covid 19 in the last 24 hours Made the biggest jump to finish. 3,100.
Omar, who is heading the National Command and Operation Center to implement a national policy to fight the covid 19 outbreak, told the media that more decisions would be taken for the targeted bandh in the coming days.
“Effective lockdown measures are slowing the pace of covid 19 outbreaks in the country,” he said.
Omar, who is the Minister of Planning, said that the government was developing a mechanism to identify areas with most covid 19 cases to take preventive measures.
He said that the government is trying to ensure the safety of medical staff and expand the capacity of hospitals across the country by providing protective gear, ventilators and other important medical equipment.
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The Ministry of National Health Service said on its website on Sunday that 45 people have died of the disease while 130 have been cured. It has now surpassed 3,100 covid 19 infections nationally.
The Department of Primary and Secondary Healthcare of the Punjab province, which is emerging as the epicenter of the virus outbreak in Pakistan, confirmed 184 new covid 19 cases in the province on Sunday, taking it to 1,380 provincially.
According to a statement from the department, the patients are divided into four categories: 309 pilgrims, 443 people associated with the Tablighi Jamaat incident in Rewind, 28 prisoners and 600 civilians.
Lahore has the highest number of 260 cases. Sindh province has reported 881 cases, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 372, Balochistan 192, Gilgit-Baltistan 206, Islamabad 78 and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir 14 cases.
The government was taking measures to stop the spread of the virus, but without much success.
The National Coordination Committee headed by Prime Minister Imran Khan meets every day to develop a response to the threat.
The government also established a National Command and Operations Center to implement the decisions made by the committee.
The Government of Pakistan on Saturday informed the Supreme Court that the number of coronovirus patients in the country could reach 50,000 by the last week of this month.
“By 25 April, the government-submitted report on the National Action Plan to Combat Coronavirus Outbreaks in the country says the number of coronovirus cases is expected to reach 50,000.”
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According to the breakdown given in the report, around 7000 cases in total are expected to be serious in nature, while around 2,500 may be cause for concern.
Geo News reported that the government estimates that further 41,000 cases may be mild in nature.
The report states that confirmed cases are expected to be lower than in countries in Europe, and assured that the government is trying to maximize its trial capacity.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Airline Pilots Association has asked the pilots not to operate any flights as the safety and other standard operating procedures were not satisfactory.
According to a notification issued by the association, “The health and safety of our crew has always been our priority.
” The action was taken after the government announced the reopening of its air operations to bring back stranded Pakistanis in various countries.