Well-coordinated national efforts helped flatten Covid-19 curve: AJK president

Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) President Sardar Masood Khan has said well-coordinated national efforts and timely decision-making strategy helped lower Covid-19 fatalities and infection rate across the country.

“With the grace of Almighty Allah, we have achieved something which the best prepared developed countries had failed to attain to deal with the pandemic,” he said while speaking to a high-level National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) delegation on Tuesday.

Headed by Executive Director National Institute of Health (NIH) Major General Amer Ikram, the delegation is currently visiting AJK to assist the state authorities to ramp up coronavirus testing and contact tracing to prepare for the fallout of educational institutions reopening.

The president said the NCOC and National Institute of Health, the federal government, armed forces of Pakistan, all the four provincial governments and the AJK government had taken preventive measures in time that have significantly contributed to flattening the pandemic curve.

He briefed the delegation about the steps taken by the state government, health officials and other stake holders in curbing the spread of virus.

“We are still constantly spreading awareness among masses that the danger is not yet over, and they must not abandon preventive measures,” said the president.

He added that on the one hand, the Azad Kashmir government had successfully controlled the pandemic through effective lockdown, while on the other the immediate support from the NCOC, NIH and other agencies also helped it prevent the spread of the pandemic.

The president maintained that the federal government through Ehsas emergency cash programme helped the region to tackle the major economic challenge in the wake of strict lockdown, and at the same time the state government through its own resources and with the cooperation of NGOs provided support to the people economically affected by the pandemic.

Speaking on the occasion, the head of NCOC delegation Maj Gen Ikram said that the National Coordination Committee for coronavirus has stepped up its efforts to provide Covid-19 vaccine to the Pakistani people. He added that clinical trials of the vaccine manufactured by China will start shortly.

He said Covid-19 vaccine will be provided to about 20 million people in the country in the first phase.