Covid risk in Ramazan highlighted

LAHORE:

Punjab health authorities have advised the people to follow coronavirus preventive measures during Ramazan to avoid a resurge of the epidemic amid the expected crowding in mosques and markets.

"Our focus is on implementation of SOPs, especially in the month of Ramazan and if there will be need than special SOPs will also be introduced. However, in the current normal situation our commitment and focus is on strict implementation of the SOPs and monitoring in this connection will be ensured during the month," primary and secondary healthcare department spokesperson Sayed Hamad Raza said on Wednesday.

He said the department was doing its best even at the time when the fifth wave of the pandemic was ending. The department had struggled hard to cope with the last wave of the pandemic, the spokesman said, adding that the restrictions on routine activities were lifted as a result of the success of the government efforts in this regard.

The monthly death toll from the virus in the province has drastically declined to 50 since March 1 as compared to 313 recorded in February. The number of patients also decreased as 3,204 cases of the infection were reported in March as compared to 19,078 in February.

The health department requested the people to follow the coronavirus preventive standard operating procedures (SOPs) during Ramazan as the fifth wave of Covid-19 in Punjab has subsided speedily.

All restrictions for business and other sectors were lifted in March and the health department expects the situation to improve further.

The overall positive diagnostic test ratio in Punjab has also declined to 0.2 per cent during the past 24 hours, while the figure for the  whole country is 0.7%.

Read: Ramazan preps reviewed

The health department announced that the virus claimed two lives in the country on Wednesday, including one in Punjab.

"The peak of the fifth wave has passed due to the efforts of the health department and

now we have brought this wave like the previous four waves," a senior official of Punjab health department said while speaking to The Express Tribune.

However, he cautioned that new cases of coronavirus were still being registered.

"Now our concern is the coming month of Ramazan because it was observed in the past that people ignored the SOPs and the ratio of patients increased," he added.

The official said crowding in mosques and markets increased in Ramazan and people ignored the advice to maintain social distance.

He said it was the responsibility of the citizens to follow the SOPs in mosques, public gatherings and markets.

In the last 24 hours, at least 36 new cases of Covid-19 were confirmed in Punjab and one death caused by the virus was reported. Since the outbreak, total 505,012 people contracted coronavirus in Punjab, of whom 489,980 recovered and 13,552 died.

"There currently are 1,479 active cases of coronavirus and under treatment in hospitals of Punjab," provincial Health Secretary Imran Sikandar Baloch said.

He requested the people to visit markets only when necessary, pointing out that staying home would be good for their safety.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 31^st, 2022.