ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has urged the people to use masks and sanitizers in cattle markets, weddings and private gatherings on the eve of Eid-ul-Adha.
He was chairing a meeting here in Islamabad on Wednesday, to review COVID situation in the country. The meeting was attended by Federal Ministers Abdul Qadir Patel, Rana Sanaullah, Sherry Rehman, Chairman National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Secretary Information, Secretary National Health Services and relevant senior officers.
The Chief Secretaries of the four provinces, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan attended the meeting through video link. Paying tribute to the services of National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), doctors and health workers in fight against COVID, the Prime Minister said those health workers who died during pandemic sacrificed themselves to protect the people.
He directed the NCOC and provincial chief secretaries to ensure implementation of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and increase public awareness in this regard. The meeting was briefed in detail about the COVID-19 situation at national as well as international level.
It was informed that there is an overall declining trend in the number of COVID cases worldwide but following the last wave of Omicron, the new variant of Omicron has recently led to an increase in cases in Pakistan, which exceeded the national rate of three percent.
The meeting was informed that 86 percent of the country’s population has been fully vaccinated while 93 percent have received at least one dose. Currently, the country has the capacity to vaccinate more than 200,000 people per day.
The meeting was further informed that the entire population of Sindh has been fully vaccinated while in Punjab and other provinces the process of vaccination is in final phase. The meeting was further informed that steps are also being taken to closely monitor the movement at borders to track COVID cases and the fast track app is being made easier for the users.