Islamabad: Pakistan today reported 269,200 new cases of coronavirus marking an increase of 1,763 infections in the last twenty-four hours.
The country is witnessing a decline in the number of daily cases as less than 2,000 cases were reported today despite the fact the government increased the number of tests to 22,408.
This is the first time in two weeks when the government raised the number of tests after it came under severe criticism that it was intentionally reducing tests to show a decline in new cases.
Not only new cases are on a downward trend, the number of daily deaths has also reduced and in one day, a total of 32 succumbed due to coronavirus.
Pakistan’s total tally of the toll caused by the virus stands at 5,709.
Minister for Special Initiative and Chairman of the National Command & Operation Centre (NCOC) Asad Umar has emphasized strict enforcement of the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to check virus spread, terming the next ten days as being of paramount importance.
In a tweet, the minister revealed he held a meeting with the chief secretaries in Quetta and conveyed to them that all efforts to keep coronavirus in control would go to waste if SOPs are not strictly enforced at cattle markets and in shopping centres and markets.
The promising results achieved so far due to a smart lockdown strategy and other preventive measures could reverse and the country could see a resurgence of the virus, warned Umar.
In the meeting hosted by the Chief Minister of Balochistan, the province’s performance against the virus [136 deaths, 11,517 cases so far] was acknowledged. It was also agreed that contact tracing was an important component of the battle against coronavirus and could lead to promising results, said Umar.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government decided to investigate the reduction of deaths due to Covid-19 to ascertain whether it was because of the government’s effective measures or if patients are opting not to visit or be admitted at hospitals.
Chief Secretary Dr. Kazim Niaz on Thursday issued directives to local government departments to report to the government about all deaths taking place at the community level.
Responding to the government’s claims of substantially controlling the coronavirus, Pakistanis are once again caught in a shopping frenzy ahead of Eid Al Adha which is to be celebrated on August 1 and the markets in Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi and other big cities are crowded with shoppers who are buying traditional Eid gifts.
Similarly, the number of customers in cattle markets is also picking up. Though some preventive measures are being taken at these markets of sacrificial animals, in general, very few people are seen wearing masks in markets and shopping centres or following SOPs.
This is a reminder of the scenes witnessed two-months ago when in May before Eid Al Fitr and the entire efforts of the district and health administrations had come down to the ground.
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