Staff Reporter
Islamabad
President Dr Arif Alvi has announced that the nation will observe Youm-i-Dua on Friday to seek God’s protection against the Coronavirus pandemic.
Speaking after an interaction with ulema in Islamabad, he said a strategy involving a combination of prayers, precautionary measures, and taking care of the weak segments of society will be pursued in the second wave of Covid-19.
He said religious scholars have an important role in spreading awareness about precautionary measures and that ulema had reaffirmed the standard operating procedures issued for mosques on April 17.
The Ulema assured strict adoption of precautionary measures at mosques and urged political leaders to follow the same spirit by avoiding large public gatherings.
A delegation of Ulema in a briefing chaired by President Dr Arif Alvi here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr called for strictly adhering to the 20-point Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), previously adopted in April to effectively overcome the second wave of pandemic.
President Alvi, flanked by Religious Minister Noor ul Haq Qadri and Special Assistant on Health Dr Faisal Sultan, announced the decisions taken during the meeting with Ulema focusing on the need to be cautious against spread of COVID-19.
The President mentioned that Ulema had assured that the mosque administrations would ensure the proper safe-distancing during congregational prayers. He, however, said that the Ulema pointed that the political leaders should also avoid holding
large rallies that might endanger precious lives.
The SOPs regarding mosques included proper distance among worshippers, disinfecting carpets and floors, ablution at homes before coming to mosques and bringing own prayer rugs.
The President said starting from December 4, a ‘Youm-e-Dua’ would be observed every Friday to seek Mercy of Allah Almighty to protect the people from the deadly virus.
He said Pakistan had successfully tackled the first wave of pandemic due to the government’s effective strategy and the will of the nation.
He said the example set by Pakistan in controlling the COVID-19 spread was acknowledged by top world health bodies and the countries in general.
The President pointed the sharp rise in number of fresh coronavirus cases in the country and recalled that in April, the number of patients was 500 a day, which increased to over 6,400 in June.
He said the current wave in winters had high chances of increasing the number of new cases that required extra precautions.
President Alvi said mosques had an important role in raising awareness among the community members regarding the importance of COVID-19 SOPs.
He said experience had taught that there was a need to change the approach in confronting the COVID-19 virus. Instead of the previous “fight, not fear the virus” approach, he said, the new one should be “prevent COVID-19”.
