(Islamabad) Prime Minister Imran Khan Monday urged the nation to
strictly follow the standard operating procedures (SOPs) and wear facemasks in
public; as the number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan had quadrupled in the
last 14 days. Briefing the media here on pandemic and deliberations of the
National Coordination Committee (NCC) meeting on Covid-19; he said a decision
on whether or not to close the educational institutions would be taken next
week. The forum took stock of the situation arising out of the spread of the
virus. The prime minister said the SOPs in mosques; factories and shops would
have to be implemented. He cautioned that if care was not exercised; hospitals
would fill with patients. He noted that the virus was more dangerous than ever
and ‘if we are careful now; we can stop it’. ‘The experience of the whole world
is that use of masks reduces the rate of spread of the epidemic; so we have to
reduce its speed. The time has come for everyone to take precautions and; at
the same time; we have to save our economy;’ he emphasized. He pointed out that
India had not yet emerged from the economic crisis due to the lockdown;
therefore; ‘we should not close factories and shops at all but should abide by
the SOPs. The Tiger Force will tell the government about those who are not
following the SOPs;’ he said. Imran said while there were six to seven deaths
taking place in one day; now they had increased to 25. He feared if the SOPs
were not followed, the consequences could be dire. He said if due care was taken;
the spread of the pandemic could be stopped and urged people to wear facemasks
while going out. He said they were not stopping business activities but the
SOPs should be implemented everywhere so that such a situation; which came a
few months ago in which the government had to resort to lockdown; did not
arise. He urged the Tiger Force to continue providing information on
non-implementation of the SOPs. ‘We have canceled this week’s rally and will
urge other political parties to refrain from holding rallies as well;’ he
maintained while referring to Gilgit Baltistan officials who said there had
been a sharp rise in corona cases since the start of the election campaign
there. The prime Minister emphasized that wedding ceremonies should be held in
open spaces, but not more than 300 people should attend a ceremony and it would
be necessary for all participants to wear masks. He made it clear that they
were analyzing whether the number of cases in schools was increasing at an
alarming rate and explained that if the number of cases increases, the
government would reduce the summer vacation by increasing the number of winter
vacation. He said it was due to the blessings of Allah that the death rate due
to the coronavirus in the country remained low and believed that God willing
the situation would not worsen. ‘We managed to save our economy during the
coronavirus pandemic. Other sectors including service, tourism and restaurants
suffered a lot but still suffered less than in other countries;’ he said. Earlier,
the prime minister chaired a meeting to review the Prime Minister’s COVID
Relief Fund utilization, which has set a precedent of transparent expenditure
trail of Rs4.8 billion. The fund was established in March 2020 to raise funds
for COVID-19 victims, says a statement issued by the Prime Minister’s Office. The
fund received generous donations from within Pakistan and overseas. An amount
of Rs4.8 billion was accumulated in the fund of which Rs1.08 billion was
donated by international donors and Rs3.8 billion were contributed
domestically. There had been little transparency in the use of donor funds in
the past. However; the PM COVID Relief Fund has set a precedent in terms of
transparency and track ability of donated funds. ‘Pakistanis are the most
giving nation. Their generosity is legendary. I want to give them the
confidence that we are fully transparent with the use of all donor funds we
receive;’ said the prime minister. The Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety
Division is the administrator of the fund. To ensure robust governance and
oversight of the fund, the prime minister established a policy committee to
oversee appropriate usage of the proceeds including means of identification of
beneficiaries and parameters of their selection. The policy committee is also
meant to decide about the means of disbursement and take any appropriate
decisions for collection of donations, maintenance and administration of the
fund and related matters.
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