COVID-19 cases reduced due to smart lockdown policy: Minister

ISLAMABAD: Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid on Thursday said that the number of coronavirus cases in Punjab have significantly decreased due to the smart lockdown policy.

The minister said the figure shows that the number of people with COVID-19 in hospital has fallen at a slower rate than the number of people were dying previously.

Talking to a private news channel, she expressed satisfaction over the reduction of coronavirus cases in the province due to smart lockdown and the burden on hospitals for coronavirus patients is decreasing.

She said that the overall statistics of the deadly virus in the city have declined. Cases diagnosed have reduced, the number of deaths have gone down and recoveries have increased.

She also revealed that the government was no longer testing asymptomatic patients of the virus on recommendations of the World Health Organisation.

The minister said that the upcoming Eid-ul-Azha will be a testing time for the nation. “If the people don’t take precautions and are careless, the declining graph of the virus is likely to increase again, like it did on Eid-ul-Fitr,” she warned.

She said that future decisions of the government regarding lockdowns and other measures will be determined by the COVID-19 situation each day. She cautioned that we need to

“We need to learn to live with the virus and take precautionary measures simultaneously,” she said, addin this will improve Pakistan’s position by the year end.

The minister added that if the decreasing number of coronavirus continues, educational institutes could be reopened in September after the final meeting in first week of August. She added the SOPs regarding educational institutes are being prepared with collaboration of the health and the education department.

Replying to a question, she said the Punjab government has already issued the standard operating procedures (SOPs) for the establishment of cattle markets for Eid-ul-Azha.

The government has restricted the elderly and children from visiting cattle markets and people experiencing symptoms like fever, cough should avoid visiting cattle markets, she added.