Non-compliance to SOPs may lead to Lockdown: Dr Yasmin Rashid

Lahore, 30th November: Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid warned the citizens to strictly follow the required SOPs, otherwise be prepared for a lockdown.

According to reports, Dr Yasmin Rashid said that all the appeals made to the opposition parties to avoid public gatherings have fallen on deaf ears and now the government is set to save people’s lives when coronavirus is raging in major cities yet again.

Dr Rashid warned that non-compliance with coronavirus standard operating procedures (SOPs) could push the government to impose a complete lockdown that would affect businesses.

عوام کی صحت ان کے اپنے ہاتھوں میں ہے
ماسک پہنیں، فاصلہ رکھیں، ہاتھ دھوتے رہیں-
اللہ نہ کرے یہ بیماری لگ گئی تو قرنطینہ میں مریض اکیلے ہی ہوتا ہے! pic.twitter.com/wuniy5FM3U

— Dr. Yasmin Rashid (@Dr_YasminRashid) November 30, 2020

Speaking at a news conference at the chief minister’s secretariat on Sunday, Dr Rashid said the second wave of coronavirus had started taking its toll with increasing numbers of deaths and infections, particularly in big cities like Lahore, Multan, Rawalpindi and Faisalabad.

Despite all appeals to avoid public gatherings and strictly observing SOPs, she said the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) meeting in Gujranwala increased the coronavirus infection rate to four per cent from a limited number of patients, and the same happened after a similar gathering in Peshawar.

“Multan is already experiencing a 12pc infection rate (that came down from 31pc in the last 25 days) and the proposed PDM public gathering in the city will yet again propel the rate,” she stressed.

Dr Rashid said PPP Chairman Bilawal Zardari also got infected with COVID-19 despite the fact that he was continuously wearing a face mask in public. She added that Mr Bhutto Zardari would get the best treatment facilities, but the poor people attending the Multan rally will eventually land in public hospitals in Punjab.

She also regretted that the public had refused to comply with the SOPs and the country was faced with increasing cases from the minimal level that the government achieved and the international organisations, including the UN and World Health Organisation, praised.

The minister informed that the government had imposed a smart lockdown in 2,030 locations and isolated 40,000 people to check the spread of the disease. The infection rate in Lahore and Gujranwala was 4pc each, Multan 12pc and Rawalpindi 11pc.

In Multan, she said, the coronavirus bed occupancy rate had reached 65pc and 17 ventilators were currently available at designated hospitals of the city. She said the government had increased its testing capacity and was conducting around 25,000 tests daily. The Punjab government had 2,500 ventilators and 10,000 oxygenated beds, she stated.

Baaghi TV earlier reported that Punjab had so far recorded 2,979 deaths, including 19 during the last 24 hours. Some 997 patients had been admitted to hospitals in Punjab, including 145 on ventilators and 475 on oxygenated beds. Around 16,204 infected patients had quarantined themselves and 2,638 frontline health workers got infected.

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