Zubair Qureshi
The Ministry of the National Health Services in collaboration with the World Health organization, on Monday launched a campaign titled ‘Wear a Mask – Protect Pakistan.’
Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan along with WHO Country Representative Dr Palitha Mahipala inaugurated the campaign and emphasized the need for strictly following COVID-19 SOPs which start with wearing a mask.
Dr Sultan who himself was wearing a mask made it clear to the audience on the occasion that it was not a right time to take off the mask as coronavirus was still present in Pakistan and people were falling victim to it.
The outbreak of the virus could be reduced if people got vaccinated and maintained social distancing, said Dr Faisal.
Updating on the status of vaccination in the country, Dr Sultan informed that almost 20 million people had been vaccinated and the country had set a target of vaccinating 70 million population by the end of the current year.
He, however, warned that only abiding by the SOPs could keep the 4th COVID-19 wave under control.
Under the campaign, the WHO will hand over masks to the federal and district health authorities including National Institute of Health (NIH), the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Health Services Academy (HAS), Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) and Islamabad police.
The WHO Representative in Pakistan, Doctor Palitha Mahipala on the occasion remarked the vaccination campaign in Pakistan was going well.
Mahipala added that the goal of the WHO’s campaign was to make use of masks mandatory and in the coming days, the international health organization would launch a campaign distributing masks at railway stations, bus stops, and other public places.
At the launching of the ‘Wear a Mask—Protect Pakistan’ the WHO has also handed over other supplies, equipment and a vehicle to the federal health authorities, including Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), Centre Health Establishment and Nutrition Division, Ministry of National Health Services.
Islamabad on Monday reported 246 new cases of Covid-19 against 4,103 tests of Covid-19 during the past twenty-four hours.
According to the NCOC, Islamabad’s Covid-19 positivity rate remained 6 percent on Monday while two persons lost their lives to Covid-19. According to the NCOC, Pakistan’s toll due to Covid-19 jumped to 889 while the tally of cases after 246 infections climbed to 102,863.
