PM to chair NCC meeting on Covid-19 today

by Tauqeer Abbas
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Prime Minister Imran Khan will preside over a meeting of the National Coordination Committee (NCC) on Covid-19 on Thursday (today).

The meeting will consider relief package for sectors that were closed due to the second wave of the pandemic.

Addressing a press conference, federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar said that over the last two months the number of patients admitted to hospitals had gone up four times.

“The pressure on hospitals will further increase if the people continue to violate Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) regarding Covid-19. The government has taken some crucial but difficult decisions for the betterment of the masses. On Thursday, the prime minister will chair a meeting of the NCC to look into the situation,” Mr Umar said.

Relief package to be discussed for sectors closed due to pandemic

“We have to prepare a strategy to deal with the situation in future. Moreover, a relief package will also be discussed for sectors closed due to the second wave of the pandemic,” the minister said.

It is worth mentioning that the education sector, restaurants, wedding halls, etc have been closed due to the pandemic.

Mr Umar criticised the decision of opposition parties to continue holding public meetings.

“Covid-19 is not a joke; it is a global issue and we have to deal with it collectively. In a democratic process, political leaders take decisions in favour of the masses and economy,” he said.

The minister said that the virus could only be controlled by following health guidelines.

Meanwhile, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) on Wednesday revealed that most deaths due to Covid-19 were taking place in Punjab, followed by Sindh.

In addition to this, an increase in the number of critical patients in Punjab has been observed in Lahore, Multan and Rawalpindi, followed by Peshawar.

Data showed that of the 60 patients who died in a day, 39 were on ventilators. In all, 348 ventilators were occupied across the country. As many as 63pc ventilators were occupied in Multan, 49pc in Islamabad, 41pc in Peshawar and 36pc in Lahore. The situation of oxygen beds occupied by patients was as follows: Islam­abad, 61pc; Multan, 47pc; Peshawar, 46pc; and Abbottabad, 37pc.

The number of people who tested positive on Wednesday was 2,963, taking the number of active cases to 45,324. The NCOC claimed that the national positivity ratio reached 7.78pc. The highest positivity ratio was observed in Karachi with 21.8pc, Hyderabad, 19.03pc; Mirpur, 13.16pc; and Rawalpindi, 13.03pc.

Dawn News

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