Blaming govt for Covid situation, PMA calls for vaccination and compliance with SOPs

The Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) on Monday urged people to comply with the Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) and other relevant restrictions. The PMA also asked people to get themselves vaccinated at the earliest by registering themselves with the immunisation system, and advised the government to increase the number of vaccination centres in the country.

Addressing a news conference at the PMA House Karachi, the association’s office-bearers said they have been requesting the government and the public for the past three weeks to play their role in controlling Covid-19 in Pakistan. They said they had warned in advance that Covid-19 cases could increase during Ramazan if the SOPs were not implemented and complied with.

“Unfortunately, we remained careless and the cases have increased. We fear that if we do not take the appropriate measures, the number of cases and deaths could increase and the pleasures of Eid could turn pale,” PMA General Secretary Dr Qaiser Sajjad said on the occasion.

PMA office-bearers maintained that they were very much concerned over the speedy surge of Covid-19 patients and the terrible increase in the number of deaths. They said that it is also very disturbing that patients’ condition is getting serious and ventilators at hospitals are being occupied swiftly, particularly in Punjab. “If we do not gain control over the situation, we may run short of beds for oxygen and ventilators. According to the National Command & Operation Centre [NCOC], at present there are approximately 90,000 active cases in the country, with 570 patients on ventilators,” said Dr Sajjad.

He said that there are 634 corona-designated hospitals in the country, and 5,810 patients at present are admitted in these hospitals, adding that according to the NCOC, the number of confirmed cases has reached 800,452 and the death toll has hit 17,187.

“During the last 24 hours, 4,825 cases have been reported positive and 70 deaths have also been reported. Just a day ago, 118 deaths were reported, and two days ago, a record 157 deaths were reported since the outbreak of the pandemic in the country. These numbers show that the Covid situation in the country is getting serious.”

Blaming the government for the worsening of the Covid-19 situation in Pakistan, he said that on February 24, the Pakistani authorities had relaxed most of the restrictions on commercial activities, schools, offices and other workplaces, allowing them to function at full strength.

“The PMA opposed this decision. We declared it a hasty decision. We were of the opinion that the government should have given priority to public health, rather than financial concerns, and had advised the authorities to lift the restrictions step-wise and only when the number of cases keeps on declining,” he said, and claimed that just a few days after the hasty decision, the number of cases began to rise and since then we have been facing the third wave.

He claimed that all of this happened due to negligence in adopting preventive measures. He said that now the deadly virus is rapidly spreading in Sindh, particularly in Karachi and Hyderabad, adding that the situation could worsen in these two cities if the government failed to implement the SOPs strictly.

“Passengers coming from other provinces in Sindh should be strictly monitored through the scanning process at the entry points. Similarly, people coming from abroad should also be examined for Covid-19 to avoid its spread. We appreciate the Sindh government for banning intercity transport.”

PMA office-bearers said people should adopt preventive measures for the sake of their families and the whole society. “Wear masks whenever you go out because a mask is a vaccine against Covid-19, keep social distance and wash or sanitise your hands at proper intervals.”

They said vaccine is the most protective shield against Covid-19. “The PMA advises people to get vaccinated as soon as possible. Do not listen or pay attention to misconceptions and myths related to Covid-19 vaccines. It is not harmful in any way. The people who do not get themselves vaccinated could face the intricacy of the disease.”

PMA Treasurer Dr Qazi Muhammad Wasiq and Karachi General Secretary Dr Abdul Ghafoor Shoro were also present on the occasion, while PMA President Dr Salma Aslam Kundi spoke via phone and urged the people to comply with the instructions to avoid an India-like situation in Pakistan.