Mirpur may face lockdown to curb Covid spread

By News Desk

MIRPUR: Authorities in Azad Jammu and Kashmir’s Mirpur district were on Friday seriously contemplating to impose a lockdown in view of a rapid outbreak of Covid-19 in its second wave that has claimed 160 lives in the district so far.

Citizens were advised by health authorities to strictly adopt preventive measures to overcome the rising trend of the novel coronavirus in the district since the outbreak of the epidemic. The territory’s death toll is 296, so Mirpur’s fatalities are disproportionately high. AJK has seen about 10,101 infections.

On Friday, National Command and Operation Centre data showed Azad Kashmir recording 79 new cases, while just 10 days prior (February 16), its cases increased by 30. Elsewhere in Pakistan, authorities were planning on loosening curbs and schools will return to their normal class attendance coming Monday.

Addressing a joint news conference here on Friday, Deputy Commissioner Bader Munir, flanked by Senior Superintendent of Police Irfan Saleem, said the continual spread of Covid-19 was causing an increase in casualties. In view of the “alarming situation”, the official said the administration was “reviewing all options including imposition of complete lockdown or smart lockdown” to curtail the spread of the epidemic in the district.

The officer said a drive to raise awareness about the “terrible affects” of the epidemic and the self protection measures to avert the threat has been launched across Mirpur.

The development came as Pakistan lost 32 more lives to Covid-19 while 1,541 more people tested positive for the coronavirus in the 24-hour-period leading to Friday. Active cases stood at 22,285.

Meanwhile, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan Friday urged against vaccine hesitation and urged health workers to get their jabs as it is safe, citing the more than 140,000 health workers getting vaccinated across the country.

Speaking to a private news channel, he said Covid-19 vaccination should be mandatory for all front-line healthcare workers to “break the chain of infection” and he himself got the first dose of vaccine a couple of days ago.

He asked health professionals who had been immunised with the Covid-19 vaccine to share their experience with their colleagues so that those who were a bit hesitant could get inoculated against the deadly virus. He warned that that vaccine hesitancy could lead to a rise in the number of coronavirus cases.

The aide said the World Health Organisation had approved it and nearly 35 countries were using it. “It is a safe vaccine,” he added. “It is a serious matter, we need to take a disciplinary action against those health workers refusing for Covid-19 vaccine and their acceptance is yet slow,” he added.

Sultan said people around the world had been receiving Covid-19 vaccine, and the temporary side effects such as headache and fever were observed, adding normalcy would only return to the country and all over the world after people were protected from this disease.