Amraiz Khan
A meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Covid-19 was held at the Chief Minister’s House under the chairmanship of Provincial Minister for Law and Social Welfare Raja Basharat.
Additional Chief Secretary Home, Secretary Primary Health, and relevant officers attended. The meeting reviewed the current situation of Corona pandemic in the province. Raja Basharat said that the appreciation and support of government measures against Corona by the Islamabad High Court is very encouraging. He directed that the ongoing plan of action be re-formulated for the prevention of Corona in Punjab as per the directions of Islamabad High Court and National Command Operation Centre (NCOC). “The instructions regarding marriage halls in particular should be strictly followed.” On the occasion, the Health Minister proposed to close the educational institutions after November 23, while the Minister for Higher Education said that closure of only high risk educational institutions should be considered. Murad Raas said that benefit of schools closure would be availed when parks, grounds, recreational areas and markets would also be closed to keep children at home. He said private schools were not providing accurate information on Corona cases.
Earlier in his briefing, the Secretary Primary Health said that the rate of new cases and deaths of Corona was gradually increasing across the province while the rate of new cases in Punjab was now more than 5% which is equal to that during it was in June this year. The briefing further said that tests were being conducted in the schools which showed that the number of positive cases was steadily increasing with 590 new cases reported so far. Raja Basharat appealed to the citizens everywhere should strictly implement SOPs. “Keep in mind that if we are not careful today, everything will have to close tomorrow.” He added.