Covid allows 78 routine days in 2021

As the overall death toll from coronavirus in Punjab rose to 13,060, people of the province spent only 78 days during the past year without restrictions imposed to protect them from the pandemic. The people had to restrict their activities for 287 days under smart lockdown to save themselves from the risk of the infection.

Official figures show that the total number of coronavirus cases across the province has reached 444,563, while 428,761 patients have returned home from government hospitals after recovery. A total of 8,832,226 diagnostic tests have been conducted with the rate of positive cases recorded at 0.3 per cent during past 24 hours.

More than 14 million people in Punjab have been vaccinated against coronavirus during the first phase of the Reach Every Door (RED) vaccination campaign. Another 26.7 million people will be vaccinated during the campaign.

In addition to lockdown and travel restrictions, the instructions for the citizens to wear masks, maintain social distance and follow other standard operating procedures (SOPs) during 2021 like the preceding year. An analysis of the official announcements showed that lockdown and partial restrictions remained in place for 287 days, leaving only 78 days of normal activities.

The impact of Covid-19 in the country has prevailed since early 2020, forcing the people to limit their social activities for about 535 of the past 720 days. Amid loss of thousands of lives due to the pandemic, the people of the province had to change their lifestyle to protect themselves.

However, many of the changes may prove to be generally beneficial for the citizens by helping them adopt a healthier and safer lifestyle. The coordinated endeavours by the federal and provincial authorities, especially the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), proved effective in coping with the situation and set a precedent for the future.

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Punjab government’s campaign for timely vaccination of the population is also proving to be successful as people of all age groups have responded positively to the campaigns launched in this regard.

Meanwhile, health experts are cautioning that the risk from the virus still persists and revival of the economic activities to overcome the losses suffered during the past two years should be accompanied by continued precautions by the government and citizens.

Provincial Primary and Secondary Healthcare Secretary Imran Sikandar Baloch said standard operating procedures (SOPs) had been devised for several sectors to curb coronavirus.

He said in a statement that all citizens should ensure compliance with the preventive measures and keep in mind that vaccination and prevention were the most effective means of protecting themselves. He said the ministry was making all possible efforts to vaccinate all people above 12 years of age in the province.

The secretary said 57 new cases of Covid-19, including 49 in Lahore and five in Rawalpindi, had been detected in the province during the past 24 hours, raising the current number of active cases of the disease to 2,556. One life was claimed by the virus in Lahore during the period.

As many as 18,488 tests for coronavirus were conducted during the past day. He said the ratio of positive test results was 0.9 per cent in Lahore, 0.7% in Rawalpindi and 0.5% in Faisalabad.

The rate recorded in Multan and Gujranwala during the 24 hours was zero. The official declared that a sufficient quantity of the vaccines was available at all inoculation centres and all citizens must ensure their vaccination.

He also advised the citizens to avoid unnecessary travel and crowds while ensuring social distancing and wearing of face masks. He said the people could contact helpline number 1033 for seeking any information or registering a complaint related to the pandemic.