Staff Reporter
Islamabad
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday appealed to the nation to mark the upcoming Eidul Azha with simplicity and take precautionary measures so that the number of Covid-19 cases in the country do not rise again.
He was speaking to the media after inaugurating the Isolation Hospital and Infectious Treatment Centre in Islamabad.
“The virus spreads rapidly when a large number of people gather,” said the premier, saying “carelessness” on Eidul Fitr in May led to a spike in cases in Pakistan. “This led to pressure on our hospitals, our frontline workers also faced immense pressure, we unfortunately lost lives and the virus peaked.
“After Eid, we took steps to contain the virus, including imposing smart lockdowns […] today, infections are decreasing. By the grace of the Almighty, the National Command and Operation Centre, the cooperation of the provinces in implementing instructions — due to the joint efforts of everyone, Pakistan is now among those countries where infections are declining.
“Today, I want to make a special appeal to you all: if we are careless on Eidul Azha, the virus could spread again and there could be a fresh spike in the number of infections. Hospitals will come under pressure again. So I’m appealing to you all to mark this Eid with simplicity.”
He said the government has come up with Standard Operating Procedures for Eidul Azha and how to carry out animal sacrifices. “I appeal to the entire nation to observe Eid with simplicity — for the sake of your country, its economy and especially the elderly and at-risk members of the society. “If we take care now, then we can manage, God willing, to come out of this pandemic better than other countries.”
Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Bajwa, Chinese Ambassador to Pakistan Yao Jing, and other high-ranking officials were present at the occasion too.
PM Imran credited the implementation of the smart lockdown across the country for bearing positive results.
The prime minister said that the effective measures collectively taken by the provinces, as advised by the NCOC, had amazingly led to the flattening of the coronavirus curve even before the projected time frame.
Lauding the tremendous work by the National Disaster Management Authority for completion of the facility in a record 100-day period, he said the completion of such a specialised hospital manifested the political will of the government to carry out the challenging task in a difficult time.
Earlier, National Disaster Management Authority Chairman Lt-Gen Mohammad Afzal briefed the prime minister on the isolation centre. The 250-bed, state-of-the-art medical facility has been constructed in a record forty days at a cost of about Rs980 million.
In his remarks, the NDMA chairman thanked the governments of Pakistan and China, Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa, and Chinese Ambassador in Pakistan Yao Jing for extending their full cooperation to complete the mega task.
During the briefing, the prime minister was told that the hospital would be operated through public-private philanthropic partnerships for an interim period of up to December 2020 when it would cost around Rs 300 million.
He was also accompanied by Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz, Special Assistant on Information and Broadcasting Asim Saleem Bajwa while Chairman National Disaster Management Authority Lt. Gen Muhammad Afzal and Brig Asim of the Authority briefed him on the project.
Spread over a 40-Kanal land, the 250-bed pre-fabricated facility is fully equipped to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. It contains all modern medical equipment, including five intensive care units, isolation wards, ventilators, CCTV cameras, nurse calling systems, as well as maiden E-ICU facility to allow doctors from abroad to treat the patients through telemedicine.
The Chinese government had provided $4 million for the construction of the facility.
