40% of population to get jabs by 14th

Apex Committee meeting vows to take measures to control fourth wave of pandemic

LAHORE:

In the wake of the fourth wave of coronavirus, civil and military administrations have vowed to take strict measures to rein in the spread of disease and set a target to vaccinate 40% of the population in five major cities of Punjab by 14 August.

The decision was made in the Punjab Apex Committee meeting which met at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat. The meeting was chaired by Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar and attended by Lahore Corps Commander Lt-Gen Muhammad Abdul Aziz, Health Minister Dr Yasmeen Rashid and others.

The chief minister stressed upon the citizens to inoculate themselves corona vaccine and protect themselves from coronavirus. He said a target has been set to inoculate vaccines to the 40% of the population in five major cities of Punjab by 14 August.

The committee vowed to take necessary measures to control the fourth wave of coronavirus, though all participants expressed satisfaction over the steps taken by the Punjab government to make the lives of the citizens safe.

The meeting agreed to further expedite the corona vaccination process.

It was decided in the meeting that effective measures will be taken under the joint strategy to enforce decisions taken to deal with coronavirus, including the implementation of administrative steps to enforce coronavirus standard operating procedures (SOPs).

Lahore Corps Commander Lt-Gen Muhammad Abdul Aziz assured the military support to the civil government to deal with the fourth wave of coronavirus and said that the Punjab government has taken effective measures to curb the coronavirus from the province.

He highlighted that the whole team of the Punjab government was struggling hard to overcome the fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic.

Addressing the Apex Committee meeting, Buzdar said that Pakistan Army has always stood by the nation in difficult times. He said about 20 million people in Punjab have been inoculated coronavirus vaccine. All necessary steps have been taken and will continue to be taken in the future as well to control the fourth wave of the coronavirus.

Read: More doses fly in to boost vaccine coffers

He said the political and military leadership of the province will overcome the challenge through joint efforts, collective vision and effective strategies.

He asserted that the government and military leadership will continue to take steps to protect the lives of the people by reviewing the ground realities and expressed hope the decisions of the meeting will yield positive results.

He highlighted that 555,000 people have so far been vaccinated against coronavirus during the last 24 hours in Punjab.

The meeting also reviewed the arrangements made for maintaining the law and order situation during Muharram-ul-Haram and decided to implement the plan chalked out in letter and spirit. It decided to take all possible steps to promote brotherhood and religious harmony during Muharram-ul-Haram. Additional contingents of police personnel will be deployed at mosques, Imam bargahs and other places of worship. The law of ban on exhibiting firearms will also be enforced strictly. Code of conduct evolved in this regard will be ensured strictly.

During the briefing, the participants of the meeting were informed that more than 84% of the patients admitted in the hospitals were those who didn’t get the coronavirus vaccine. Punjab Primary and Secondary Health Secretary and the Specialized Healthcare and Medical Education Secretary briefed the participants about the overall coronavirus situation, vaccination and treatment facilities.

The latest official data highlights that as many as 1,099 new coronavirus cases were reported in the province during the past 24 hours after which a total number of cases had reached 362,557. It shows that currently, around 16,580 active coronavirus patients are in the province. Official statistics show that 31 citizens lost their lives due to coronavirus, including six in Lahore, during the past 24 hours after which a total number of coronavirus deaths reached 20,413.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 8^th, 2021.