NewsJuly 30, 2020
Too early for Pakistan to celebrate improved Covid-19 situation
NEW YORK: The United Nations has commended Pakistan’s gains in the fight against the coronavirus but warned complacency during the coming Islamic festival of Eid-ul-Azha could lead to a new surge in cases, foreign media reported.
The warning comes a day after Prime Minister Imran Khan said Pakistan was among the few countries in the world that have largely controlled the pandemic.
The outbreak hit the county of 220 million peoplein late February and the number of confirmed cases has since surpassed 275,000, including nearly 5,900 deaths. Almost 90pc of patients have recovered, and COVID-19 infections have considerably dropped over the past month.
On Tuesday, health officials said there were 936 new cases and 23 deaths from the virus in the past 24 hours, representing a decline of about 86%. Pakistan had a peak of 6,825 cases on June 14.
“There is an improvement in the COVID situation in the country,” Aida Girma, UNICEF representative in Pakistan, told an online public event in Islamabad. “Across all indicators we are seeing improvement, and this is very encouraging. But it is too soon to celebrate. We can’t be complacent.”
The UNICEF country chief urged the government to redouble efforts ahead of the Eid festivities starting later this week to ensure the gains Pakistan has made in the past few weeks are not lost.
“We are at a critical juncture of the current pandemic, witnessing a significant decrease in the number of cases, and no way can afford slackness or complacence, as was observed during Eid-al-Fitr days”, Zafar Mirza, a special assistant to the Pakistani prime minister, told the online forum.
Mirza was referring to the Muslim festival in May when the government relaxed lockdown restrictions on the eve of the festivities and the number of cases shot up, putting pressure on hospitals in Pakistan and prompting severe criticism of the government.
Courtesy www.thenews.com.pk
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