WHO, PMA advise for total lockdown

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) and World Health Organisation on Thursday urged the Pakistan government and state institutions to enforce complete lockdown to stop the spread of coronavirus in the country.

The PMA particularly appealed to the Chief Justice of Pakistan, who has taken a suo motu notice regarding measures taken to curb the pandemic, to ask the government to review its recent decision taken in consultation with Ulema to allow congregational prayers in mosques during the holy month of Ramazan. 

Stressing the importance of taking strict measures to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, the PMA President Dr Ashraf Nizami -- who was speaking alongside other senior doctors from the body at a presser in Lahore -- urged authorities "not to push the country into a test it is not prepared for". 

"The rule of asix-foot distance between worshippers is not possible practically. We appeal the government to review its decision and establish writ of the state," he said. Pointing towards the restrictions in place at the Islam's holiest sites, Dr Nizami said: "Our Qibla is Kaaba and Masjid-e-Nabwi is most important to us. If social distancing rules are being implemented there and our religious scholars have also counselled against offering Taraveeh and prayers at mosques. Your (government's) imprudent steps will not be good for us," he said, calling upon the country's leadership to exercise the "writ of the government," he said.

Dr Ashraf Nizami said "the decisions made by governments of Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Turkey, Malaysia and Indonesia as Muslim countries should also be adopted by Pakistan. All of us want to pray and worship in Ramazan but we should not do anything that would, God forbid, lead to an increase in our troubles," he said. He pointed out that confirmed cases in Pakistan had already crossed the 10,000 mark even though the country's testing capacity was limited. "I don't want to scare you, but I would like to inform you that the (cases) are not in thousands, the number is much higher. It would sound weird to hear that the number is 100,000, but it is definitely not less," he said. He clarified that the number was not "based on assumptions but on mathematical models." He pointed out that research had shown around 80 percent of patients did not show symptoms. The government, he said, had not examined individuals without symptoms. "If they are tested, the number of cases will be much higher," he claimed. Dr Nizami called for the imposition of a "100pc lockdown policy", saying that the recent relaxations had led to an increase in cases across the country. The lockdown, he said, should also include restrictions on religious gatherings.

"We are not economy experts, but as medical professionals, we believe that if there is life, there is opportunity. To say that we'll either die from the virus or from poverty is not right. This is a very negative trend," he said.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) Thursday said the number of estimated coronavirus cases in Pakistan can rise to an estimated 200,000 by mid-July if "effective interventions" are not taken.

This was stated by Dr Tedros Adhanom, Director-General WHO at the launch of the Pakistan National Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan virtual conference.

"Pakistan's #COVID19 Response Plan is a joint strategy of the Government of #Pakistan, the @UN and partners. It is aligned with the @GlobalGoalsUN, Pakistan’s National Action Plan and WHO’s global Strategic Preparedness and Response Plan," DrTedros was quoted as saying.

He said that the required funding for the plan was $595 million which would be allocated to support various measures.

"Without effective interventions there could be an estimated 200K+ cases by mid-July. The impacts on the economy could be devastating, doubling the number of people living in poverty. We must act in solidarity, with a coherent, coordinated approach," Dr Tedros was quoted as saying.

The WHO also said the new coronavirus pandemic could severely disrupt access to anti-malaria nets and drugs in sub-Saharan Africa, warning that malaria deaths risked doubling if efforts are not urgently scaled up.

The UN health agency called on countries in sub-Saharan Africa -- where nearly 95 percent of all the world´s malaria cases and deaths occur -- to distribute malaria prevention and treatment tools now, before they become overwhelmed with novel coronavirus cases.

"Severe disruptions to insecticide-treated net campaigns and access to anti-malarial medicines could lead to a doubling in the number of malaria deaths in sub-Saharan Africa this year compared to 2018," the WHO warned, citing new modelling analysis.

The WHO also said that Europe´s care homes were the scene of an "unimaginable human tragedy", with deaths there accounting for 50 percent or more in some countries.

The WHO regional director for Europe, Hans Kluge, called the situation "deeply concerning." Speaking at a weekly press conference, Kluge said estimates from some European countries showed that "up to half of those who have died from COVID-19 were residents in long-term care facilities."

As of April 13, of the 444 deaths in Ireland, 245 (55.2 percent) were linked to long-term care facilities, according to international media reports. In France, as of April 15, 49.4 percent of deaths were linked to care facilities.

Kluge stressed that there was "an immediate and urgent need to rethink and adjust how long-term care facilities operate." Nearly half of all reported cases of the new coronavirus worldwide have been registered in the WHO´s European region, which stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific and includes 53 countries as diverse as Russia and Andorra.

The worldwide death toll from the novel coronavirus pandemic rose to 188,846, according to latest international media reports.

More than 2,697,084 declared cases have been registered in 193 countries and territories since the epidemic first emerged in China in December. Of these cases, at least 739,876 are now considered recovered.

In the United States, now the worst-hit country, the death toll stood at 48,868 with 866,148 infections. Italy is the next most affected country with 25,549 deaths and 189,973 confirmed infections. It is followed by Spain with 22,157 fatalities and 213,024 confirmed infections, France with 21,856 deaths and 161,530 infections and Britain with 18,738 deaths and 138,078 cases.

Iran called Thursday for the US to be held accountable for "cruel" sanctions that have hampered its efforts to fight a coronavirus outbreak that it said claimed another 90 lives.

The Islamic republic has been struggling to contain the virus that causes the COVID-19 disease since revealing its first cases more than two months ago.

It accuses its arch enemy the United States of making the crisis worse through sanctions imposed unilaterally since Washington pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal in 2018.

China announced it will give another $30 million to the WHO to help in the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic, days after Washington said it would freeze funding.

The US, which is the WHO´s biggest contributor, accused the organisation last week of "mismanaging" the COVID-19 crisis, drawing ire from Beijing as both countries spar over the deadly virus.

For the eighth straight day, China´s National Health Commission reported no new deaths from COVID-19 in its daily figures.

The United Arab Emirates said Thursday it is looking into reopening its massive shopping malls, a month after they were closed as part of measures to curb the spread of coronavirus. The restrictions have hit businesses hard, particularly retailers who had expected to cater to a rush of Ramazan shoppers.

Health ministry and crisis authorities have requested a study into "the possibility of reopening commercial centres with their private sector partners while taking into consideration health requirements", the official WAM news agency reported.