Nausheen Hamid urges people to cooperate with govt to contain Covid-19

ISLAMABAD, Apr 8 (APP):Federal Parliamentary Secretary for National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination Nausheen Hamid Wednesday urged general public to cooperate with the government and follow the instructions issued by the government in order to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

In an interview with PTV news, she feared that the ignorance of people may cause further spread of the coronavirus, adding that all the institutions, the federal and provincial governments and general public must be on the same page in fight against coronavirus pandemic.

“Precaution is better than cure. Staying at home is better than staying at hospitals. The virus cannot transmit through blood transmission”, she added.

She said the government was observing the situation very carefully and would not hesitate to take any step to contain the further spread of coronavirus.
She said Covid-19 has emerged as a global challenge and it was not a political issue.

She said that the country was passing through a difficult time, adding that it is not possible for people to come out of their homes and move freely.
Many people have voluntarily registered themselves in Prime Minister’s Tiger force, she added.

Following urgent calls for medical supplies, Pakistan on April 9 would receive more protective gear from China to contain the spread of coronavirus, which would obviously overcome the shortage of protective gears for medical staffs, she said.

“We received many complaints that the doctors and paramedical staff are not being provided with safety kits but inshAllah now we are fully equipped and doctors’ demands to be fulfilled on priorities”, she assured.

However, the government has identified the major hospitals in the country and would directly supply the safety kits to those hospitals through courier services.

The major surgeries in hospitals are continuing, she said.

After some time, the OPDs in all institutional hospitals will resume working. All the hospitals are already dealing with emergency cases, she said. She also conveyed sincere gratitude to China for supporting Pakistan.

“The medical equipment provided by China will greatly strengthen Pakistan’s capacity to fight the virus”,she said.

In the prevailing situation, “We cannot predict about the intensity of COVID-19 in future”, she added.

However, the government is taking certain initiatives to enhance the capacity of testing the corona suspects, she mentioned.

The tiger force will not only be responsible for provision of essential commodities to deserving families, but also will be responsible to monitor the quarantine centers in their respective areas, she explained.

Replying to a question she said, “We cannot afford complete lockdown, but in coming days we are planning and preparing different new SOPs”.

The government can take the step of partial lockdown because complete lockdown would adversely affect the lives of daily wagers who are living below the poverty line. Pakistan is facing an unprecedented situation but we should not get unnecessary panic, she explained the current situation.

The Covid-19 has crushed the market all over the world, she said, adding that the global economy has collapsed due to corona outbreak, but for this purpose in Pakistan some of businesses allowed to run and facilitate public with necessities of their lives.