COVID-19: PM Imran rules out complete lockdown, says it will cause chaos

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has ruled out a complete lockdown in the country, saying it will cause chaos and urged people to follow SOPs to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

Prime Minister Imran Khan while chairing National Coordination Committee (NCC) meeting for corona today via video link, reiterated his position that despite the third wave of COVID-19 being very dangerous, Pakistan cannot afford to have a complete lockdown and businesses will continue on a limited scale.

The PM further said that the first and second waves were successfully countered by adopting a better strategy and once again, circumstances require the nation to show responsibility. A nationwide campaign should be launched to ensure the use of masks and full implementation of SOPs, he instructed the officials in the meeting.

During the meeting, the situation of COVID-19 in the country was discussed in detail. The Prime Minister directed the strict implementation of SOPs and said that business would continue on a limited scale.

The meeting was also briefed on vaccine procurement and the ongoing vaccination drive across the country. The Prime Minister Instructed that merit and transparency be ensured in the vaccination process.

The meeting endorsed the decision to immediately ban all indoor and outdoor activities across the country. Restrictions will apply to districts and cities with more than 8% positive cases. The meeting also considered the option of reducing inter-provincial transport.

Pakistan recorded 4,757 cases from COVID-19 as the situation continues to worsen from the coronavirus despite the restriction imposed by the government.

According to the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), the coronavirus has claimed 78 more lives across the country during the past 24 hours as the overall death toll reaches 14,434.

The total number of cases recorded in the country has reached 667,957.  The number of active cases has reached 50,397 while 3,197 people are in critical condition as hospital occupancy rise in many parts of the country. The positivity rate has increased and now stands at 10.16 percent.

A total of 43,965 tests were conducted across the country during this period. Since the detection of the first COVID-19 case in the country, overall 10,197,329 tests have been conducted so far while 603,126 cases have been recorded so far.