PM says Covid-19 third wave more lethal, appeals to people to avoid gatherings

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday once again ruled the closure of businesses and other economic activities in the country amid the third Covid-19 wave, ARY News reported.

“We are not in a position to impose another country-wide lockdown, but we can take precautions by wearing masks and following government-set SOPs,” said the premier in a video message.

PM Khan said that the third wave of coronavirus was more lethal as compared to the previous two waves. He said the third wave in Pakistan is the spread of the UK strain as the new strain of the COVID-19 was more transmissible than the original.

He said that the authorities were “worried” about increasing pressure on hospitals and medical staff due to the spike in cases.

Prime Minister Imran Khan said that he and the first lady have gone through the COVID-19 ordeal but with the blessings of Allah Almighty they remained safe.

PM Imran Khan said, “I exercised precaution for a whole year and avoided weddings and private gatherings and practiced social distancing.”

PM said that he did not exercise caution during Senate elections and so infected with the coronavirus. “In the Senate election, I did not exercise as much caution and so caught the virus.”

Read More: Punjab govt likely to impose complete lockdown in Lahore amid rising Covid-19 cases

Prime Minister Imran Khan has appealed to the people to avoid gatherings and cooperate with the government and take precautions.

The third wave of COVID-19 is more severe than the previous ones, therefore we should strictly adhere to the SOPs, including wearing masks and avoiding gatherings as we did in the past, he added.

Indoor, outdoor gatherings banned

It is pertinent to mention here that the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) banned on Sunday both indoor and outdoor gatherings across the country.

A special session of the NCOC with Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar in the chair took stock of the current Covid-19 situation. It ordered that “all kind of gatherings (indoor/outdoor) will be banned with immediate effect.”

However, weddings, including both indoor and outdoor, will be banned from 5th April onward. The provinces will be at liberty to implement restrictions as per the situation on ground, the NCOC said.

The NCOC said these decisions will be implemented in districts and cities with 8% positivity percentage (three days rolling average). It will provide “updated hotspot maps” to the provinces for the enforcement of expanded lockdowns with effect from March 29.

Pakistan Covid-19 cases

Coronavirus has claimed 57 more lives in Pakistan during the past 24 hours, surging the overall death toll to 14,215.

The latest statistics of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) showed the COVID-19 has claimed 57 more lives and 4,767 fresh infections were reported during the period.

Read more: Govt to take tough decisions if COVID-19 situation worsens: Asad Umar

The total count of active cases is 44,447 and the positivity rate stands at 10.44 per cent.

A total of 45,656 tests were conducted across the country during this period. Since the detection of the first COVID-19 case in the country, overall 10,066,726 tests have been conducted so far.