QUETTA: A meeting presided over by Chief Secretary Mathar Niaz Rana on Wednesday reviewed the steps taken by the provincial government for the prevention of a third wave of coronavirus in Balochistan and implementation of standard operating procedures (SOPs).

Addressing the meeting, the chief secretary said the third wave of coronavirus was very dangerous which was spreading rapidly, while the provincial government was taking steps to control it.

He said this dangerous virus did not spread quickly in the province but all concerned agencies and classes and schools of thought should play an active and dynamic role in dealing effectively with the situation.

“Religious scholars should ask people to ensure implementation of SOPs announced by the government in their Friday sermons,” he added.

He said the spread of coronavirus should be stopped and the atmosphere of frustration and panic among the people should not be allowed to spread and precautionary measures should be taken to prevent the spread of the virus.

Mr Rana said the government was fully prepared to take precautionary measures to prevent the coronavirus from spreading. He said appropriate steps should be taken to make the public aware of the precautionary measures and implementation of SOPs through electronic, radio and social media.

The chief secretary said SOPs would also be enforced for the prevention of spread of the virus during Ramazan.

Additional Chief Secre­ta­­ry Home Hafiz Abdul Ba­­sit, Secretary of Services and Gen­eral Administration Depart­ment Bilal Ahmed Jamali, Industries Secretary Abdul Majeed, the secretary of Religious Affairs, Quetta Commissioner Asfandyar Kakar, Director General, Provincial Disaster Manag­e­ment Authority, Naseer Ahmed Nasir, Additional Secretary Colleges Hamid­ullah Nasir, Deputy Com­mi­s­sioner of Quetta Aurangzeb Badini and deputy commissioners of different districts participated in the meeting.

Published in Dawn, March 18th, 2021