SOPs violated on first Ramazan

ISLAMABAD: Expressing serious concern over public defiance of Covid-19 SOPs on the first day of Ramazan, Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Health Dr. Zafar Mirza Saturday warned that abandoning precautions will trigger disease spread, rendering more people critically ill, and burdening the health system beyond its capacity.

“We have observed hordes of people thronging marketplaces ahead of ‘Iftar’. Please understand that we are passing through a critical phase in the spread of Covid-19. An extraordinary situation warrants an extraordinary response. I appeal to the public to avoid marketplaces during ‘Sehri’ and ‘Iftar,’ and to restrict themselves to their homes. The trend witnessed on the first of Ramazan is not at all encouraging,” Dr Zafar said in his daily televised briefing.

He said medical professionals in different cities of the country had been holding press conferences, urging people to stay indoors.

“They have tabled their concerns because they can feel the threat and are fully aware of the situation of our hospitals and the capacity of our health system,” Dr. Zafar said, appealing to the public to practice social distancing guidelines, to offer prayers at home, and to restrict their outdoor movements to the barest minimum.

“If at all you must go to the mosque, please follow the 20-point SOPs issued, but prefer to take care of everyone by self-isolating yourself,” he said.

The SAPM announced that following approval of the Trace, Track and Quarantine (TTQ) policy, the government had constituted a National Expert Committee for TTQ to harmonize federal-provincial efforts policy for containment of Covid-19.

The committee includes one technical expert each, nominated by the provinces.

“All provincial health ministers have been consulted and consensus has been achieved, empowering the expert committee to take decisions on technical matters,” he said.

Referring to news pertaining to Covid-19 vaccine production and trials, Dr. Zafar clarified that Pakistan had not undertaken any initiative thus far for production of any vaccine.

“The impression that we will be making some Covid-19 vaccine available in Pakistan is absolutely unfounded,” he said.

The SAPM added that since coronavirus had no specific treatment or medicine, and since available medicines were being used for treatment, Pakistan too had developed clinical management guidelines which list some existing medicines only.

Dr. Zafar said, China, which had developed a vaccine and was also conducting research on some antiviral medicine for treatment of Covid-19, was approaching several countries, including Pakistan, for vaccine trials.

“They offered us to consider becoming part of the trials. We will thoroughly examine factors such as safety and efficacy and other ethical considerations before taking a decision. It will be a rigorous process,” he stated, adding, “While research in many countries is underway, it is still highly premature to predict when medicines for Covid-19 will eventually be available.”

Dr. Zafar also announced the launch of telehealth.gov.pk, another initiative linked to ‘Yaran-e-Watan’ or Pakistan Health Diaspora Initiative.

“Any doctor located within Pakistan or abroad, and willing to give medical advice to people on any health issue, can register themselves on this platform, which is now up and running,” he said.