Govt to increase number of smart lockdowns: Yasmin Rashid

LAHORE : PUNJAB Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid has said Punjab government is all set to scale up the contact tracing and increase the number of smart lockdowns in the wake of increasing number of coronavirus cases.

The minister said this during a meeting of National Command and Control Centre at the Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Department here on Saturday.

The meeting was attended by Specialised Healthcare and Medical Education Secretary Barrister Nabeel Awan, Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department Secretary Sarah Aslam while Special Assistant to Prime Minister Dr Faisal Sultan, ghealth ministers of all provinces and officials participated in it via video link.

Dr Yasmin Rashid apprised the participants of measures taken to increase the capacity of public sector hospitals, vaccination status, implementation of SOPs and measures for smart lockdowns.

Federal Minister Asad Omar appreciated the Punjab government performance regarding control of corona pandemic.

The Punjab health minister said the Punjab government is utilising all available resources to control the pandemic. Treatment capacity of government hospitals is being gradually improved. The SOPs are being implemented, she said.

“Overall we are vaccinating around 27,000 citizens per day.

The Corona testing capacity is also being continuously improved. Our current focus is on scaling up the contact tracing. Smart lockdowns are being enforced in the cities showing higher ratio of corona positive cases. People are being regularly updated on the seriousness of the situation and importance of following the SOPs. Uninterrupted oxygen supply to all hospitals is going. Punjab is getting more vaccines very soon,” the minister said.

During the holy month of Ramazan, vaccination of citizens is being undertaken in two shifts. The morale of the frontline health workers is very high, she said.