People urged to follow SOPs amid infections surge

CM’s aide says 435 new coronavirus cases confirmed in K-P in past 24 hours

PESHAWAR:

With an alarming rise in the novel coronavirus cases amidst the second wave, Special Assistant to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief minister on Information Kamran Bangash has urged the public to strictly observe the novel coronavirus guidelines.

Bangash in a statement on Thursday said that as many as 435 new cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed in the province in the past 24 hours. The government's machinery is fully active to tackle the second wave of coronavirus, he added.

The special assistant that the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government may impose a complete lockdown across the province if cases of contagion increase further.

The special assistant said that the Covid-19 cases were on the rise while some political leaders were staging public gatherings for personal interests.

He condoled with the family the nurse Robina Shaheen of the Naseerullah Babar Hospital who died of the virus. The provincial government do not want to take measures that may affect the lives of the public and urged people to observe SOPs. The situation may deteriorate further if the public did not take the coronavirus SOPs seriously, he added.

The provincial health department on Tuesday said that 382 new cases of coronavirus had been confirmed in the province after which the toll of cases jumped to 45,314. Earlier this week, the provincial government has said that a 100% increase in coronavirus cases has been witnessed in the current month.

Health officials have already warn of the dire consequences of the second wave of the coronavirus if the public started flouting the standard operating procedures. They have also stressed the need for following the precautionary measures to flatten the curve of contagion in the country.

Last week, the K-P government said that the ratio of the novel coronavirus infections in the province had surged from 1.7 per cent last month to a whopping 6.7 per cent, confirming that along with winter, the province is now facing a second wave of the pandemic.

Special Assistant to K-P CM on Information and Higher Education Kamran Bangash had said the surge in cases has been confirmed by the National Coordination Council.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 27^th, 2020.