ISLAMABAD: With the number of Covid-19 cases rising in the country, President Dr Arif Alvi on Sunday urged the nation to strictly adhere to the health protocols for the next few months and continue wearing masks, maintaining social distance and washing hands frequently.

In a video message, President Alvi said the country had contained the virus to a great extent but had not eliminated it completely that was why constant observance of the standard operating procedures (SOPs) was required.

He said the country had recorded 6,825 infections on June 14, the highest number of positive cases, which dropped to 185 on Aug 31. The figure has now crossed the 700 mark, he added. He said the government had faced the Covid-19 challenge by adopting smart lockdowns while simultaneously ensuring business activity continued to save people from unemployment.

“After a bit of decline, the virus has resurfaced in America, France, Spain, England and other European countries,” he added.

Umar tweets former World Bank chief economist’s remarks in praise of Pakistan’s response

Dr Alvi said Pakistan had tackled coronavirus effectively after people started wearing masks in mosques and markets, frequently washing hands and observing social distancing. “In order to avert its resurgence, they are required to keep observing precautions for a few more months to purge the country of the disease,” he added.

The president said that by pursuing the “prudent” vision of Prime Minister Imran Khan, people’s livelihood was saved and the poor were assisted through the Ehsaas Programme, a cash distribution project under which over Rs200 billion has so far been distributed among the needy.

He advised people not to ignore precautions and avoid gatherings at wedding halls and hugging to prevent further spread of the virus.

While posting a TV grab of former US president Barack Obama’s economic advisory council chief’s interview on CNN, federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar on Sunday evening tweeted: “Larry Summers the former chief economist of world bank and former chief of economic advisory council of president obama says if the US had handled covid as well as Pakistan it could have saved 10 trillion dollars.”

Read: 'America would have saved trillions had it handled the pandemic as well as Pakistan'

Earlier on Thursday, Mr Umar said there were “unmistakable signs of the rise of coronavirus” in the country and the government might have to take “restrictive actions” to curb the spread, which would have negative effects on the livelihood of the people.

He said Covid-19 cases stood at 2.37 per cent on Wednesday, which was the highest in over 50 days.

The minister, who also heads the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) that oversees the country’s response to the pandemic, said the death of 11 coronavirus patients on an average was reported during the first four days of this week, the highest since Aug 10.

He said Covid-19 positivity was ‘extremely high’ in Muzaffarabad, ‘high’ in Karachi and ‘rising’ in Lahore and Islamabad.

Published in Dawn, October 19th, 2020