LAHORE: Had effective preventive measures not been taken, the number of Covid-19 patients could have touched a whopping figure of 600 million, instead of current 600,000, in the country, says Corona Expert Advisory Committee chairman Mahmood Shaukat.

Addressing a press briefing, along with his colleagues from the Technical Working Group and Primary and Secondary Healthcare secretary, he cautioned against ignoring the corona standard operating procedures (SOPs) and asked the media to play its role in raising awareness, because, otherwise, the situation could quickly get out of hand.

Explaining the current Corona situation, Muhammad Usman, Secretary of Primary and Secondary Healthcare, said there were 128,673 Covid patients in the province.

In the last 24 hours, 777 new cases surfaced out of 16,931 tests. Lahore leads the way with 444 new cases, Rawalpindi 71 and Faisalabad and Rahim Yar Khan reported 40 cases each.

Virus claims 19 more lives

With 19 more deaths, the total toll of the disease has risen to 4,203. In Lahore, 63 areas have been put under smart lockdown so far, while the number of such areas in Rawalpindi was 20 and six in Gujrat and two more areas came under smart lockdown on Thursday. Eighteen labs are working in Punjab for the coronavirus testing, while two more are being established in south Punjab.

Answering a question about the closure of schools, but leaving the markets open, he said there was no comparison between the two.

“The interaction as well as the duration of interaction has been identified as a key element in transmission of Covid-19.” He said the PCR test was considered as the gold standard for the early diagnosis of Covid-19. The data provided on a daily basis was accurate and there was no doubt on the data integrity, he claimed.

The secretary said his department was conducting its own inquiry into alleged “false testing” of Covid-19 suspects and action would be taken against all those found involved.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Asad Aslam explained the state of preparation in Lahore, saying the number of total operational beds for Covid patients in the city was 2,500. In the province, corona treatment was available in 256 hospitals. There were 8,261 beds (3,744 with oxygen facility) available in these hospitals, he said.“We have sufficient arrangements to tackle the second wave of Covid-19. Pakistan has been praised internationally and recognised for its efforts to prevent the spread of Covid-19,” he said.

About the arrival of the vaccine, Mahmood Shaukat said it was under trial and its availability would be decided by the regulatory authorities.

Preventive measures were taken regarding wedding halls and events were taking place under the SOPs, he claimed.

As per change in the policy “we are now performing tests on symptomatic patients only to ensure smart use of resources,” he added.

Published in Dawn, January 8th, 2021