The COVID-19 cases will possibly surpass a million as Pakistan’s planning minister, Asad Umar warned the public regarding the pandemic spread’s acceleration in the country. He predicted that the cases could even double by the end of June and the number will gradually begin to multiply with the course of time.
The COVID-19 cases will possibly surpass a million as Pakistan’s planning minister, Asad Umar warned the public regarding the pandemic spread’s acceleration in the country. He predicted that the cases could even double by the end of June and the number will gradually begin to multiply with the course of time.
What really led Asad to remind the oublic about the seriousness of the pandemic is solely due to the non-serious attitude towards the SOPs these include hygiene, social distancing and others.
The current figure of COVID-19 positive cases in Pakistan has reached 140,000, with the death toll approaching 2,700.
Authorities have boosted testing services but this nonetheless remains limited, as the real numbers are thought to be higher than expected.
“Expert estimates say the number of confirmed cases could go up to 300,000 by the end of June if we keep on flouting SOPs (standard operating procedures) and taking the problem lightly,” said Umar, who is helping coordinate the government’s coronavirus response.
Asad further exclaimed: “We fear the number of confirmed cases could go up further to 1.2 million by end of next month”
Pakistan and other South Asian countries are experiencing a surge in cases, after initially lagging infection rates in Western nations.
The root of rapid spread of the disease in Pakistan is nothing but the public’s violation over the restrictions rendered by the government over the crowding in mosques and markets.
In March, when the spread began in Pakistan , Prime Minister Imran Khan disregarded a nationwide lockdown of the kind other countries had been imposing, arguing the country could not afford it.
Instead, Pakistan’s four provinces ordered a patchwork of closures, but even those restrictions have now been lifted.
The minister said that those areas which are most affected with the virus such as Lahore are now subject to “smart” lockdowns in which authorities attempt to track COVID-19 patients and abstain their contact with other people.
“The government has decided to go for smart lockdowns by tracking hotspots and then sealing them. This will start from Punjab province,” Umar said.
Asad informed that authorities in Islamabad already locked down one neighbourhood after tracking 200 confirmed COVID cases in just one day. Some hospitals say they are at or near capacity, and some are turning Covid-19 patients away.