Stepping up anti Covid measures: Tribal religious clerics to preach SOPs

PESHAWAR: The secretary for interior and federally administered tribal areas chaired Monday a session over the implementation of Covid SOPs in the tribal region deciding to conduct an awareness week for the populace, ARY News reported.

The divisional commissioners are directed to carry out daily general steps to ensure SOPs implementation while also to do a specific task each day for the same end while taking shop owners, transporters and all stakeholders in confidence.

In the backdrop of rising Covid cases into the second pandemic wave, home secretary Ikram Ullah noted that violators of SOPs will be heavily fined as the implementations are being sped up.

He added that the shops and markets found in violation of the SOPs will be sealed in the initial step followed with implementation being made mandatory on bus stations, and public and private transportation.

According to the home and tribal affairs secretary, the third day of the awareness week will take care of violations committed by restaurants after consultations with Civil Societies and seminars for awareness.

We will reach out to religious clerics for advising people to take care of the SOPs, Ikram Ullah.

Shopping malls and major domestic markets will be sealed for violating Covid curbing measures, he added.

The secretary noted that into the fourth day of the awareness week, the masses will be advised on the use of social distancing, and masks and sanitizers will be distributed amongst them.

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The fifth day, Friday that is, will see awareness khutbas and sermons in mosques for the masses to ensure taking measures to avoid being carriers of the pandemic, followed with the sixth day of loud speaker campaign in the streets and public offices.

The concluding day of the week will have former local bodies officials and political leadership addressing to people on the critical importance of the SOPs.

Ikram Ullah said throughout this week the authorities will distribute at least 1000 masks in each district for free while all relevant commissioners will submit daily reports by 5pm in the chief secretary office.