Covid positivity in Balochistan climbs to 6.8%

Govt postpones examinations till March next year

QUETTA:

The Balochistan government on Saturday expressed serious concerns over the looming second wave of the coronavirus, saying that the Covid-19 positivity ratio has climbed to 6.8 per cent in the province.

“The number of contagion cases increased in Balochistan after the Pakistan Democratic Movement’s public rally in Quetta,” provincial spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani said while addressing a news conference.

As part of its action plan, the PDM – an 11-party opposition alliance – had staged a rally in the provincial capital on October 25. People had turned up in large numbers at the gathering and were seen flouting the standard operating procedures (SOPs) by neither wearing face masks nor maintaining a safe distance from each other.

After last month’s demonstration, the spokesperson said that currently people have been moving from Balochistan to Peshawar to attend the next rally. The grand opposition alliance must have to understand the intensity of the pandemic, he said, adding that the government was on alert in view of the situation and taking measures to increase the number of corona-testing kits.

He feared that there were chances of a further increase in the microbe cases as people were moving in the shape of caravans to Peshawar from Balochistan to attend PDM’s Sunday rally.

“The Balochistan government had also expressed grave concerns at the time of the PDM’s Quetta rally. Now, the facts and figures of the coronavirus on a daily basis have proved our narrative,” Shahwani said.

To a question, the spokesperson said that the number of contagion cases had increased “threefold from previously reported cases”. He said, “The Covid-19 positivity ratio has climbed to 6.8 per cent in Balochistan. The second wave of the coronavirus is more dangerous and fatal than the first one.”

Shahwani urged the people to follow the virus protocol and take precautionary measures against the contagion.

Sharing anti-virus measures, he said the provincial government does not wish to impose a lockdown; however, in order to remain safe from the microbe, the authorities have decided to postpone the annual examination till March next year. The federal government must impose a ban on every kind of public gathering in the country, either religious or political,” he added.

During the news conference, the spokesperson also highlighted the provincial government’s efforts to stem the Covid-19 outbreak in the province.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, November 23^rd, 2020.