Faisal Edhi writes to Indian PM offering his assistance
Situation is changing very fast and we might have to impose a lockdown in days to come, which would be devastating for the economy and the poor: PM; Edhi’s son pens leter to Modi, offers assistance
Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Friday that the army has been requested to help the law enforcement agencies implement COVID-19 standard operating procedure (SOPS) across the country.
Ater a meeting of the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) that reviewed the overall pandemic situation in Pakistan, he appealed to the nation to follow precautions, warning they would soon be facing a situation like India if they continued on the same trajectory.
However, Imran deferred imposing complete lockdown in major cities, which have been hit by the COVID-19 severely. “The situation is changing very fast and we might have to impose a lockdown in days to come, which would be devastating for the economy and the poor.”
The NCOC meeting was atended by chief ministers, ministers and chief secretaries, which reviewed the latest COVID-19 numbers and decided to impose further restrictions as the third wave of coronavirus wreaks havoc in Pakistan.
“The government has expanded the capacity of hospitals during the past year. Had we not increased the facilities we might be facing a very bad situation,” the prime minister said. “If we strictly follow the SOPS till Eid, we may not need to take steps India is taking.”
He asked scholars to play their role in creating awareness like they did in previous Ramadan. “Today, people are asking me to impose a lockdown but we are not taking such an extreme step for now and I am more concerned about the poor and daily wagers. If our circumstances become the same as India, then we will have to close down cities. We can’t do that because, as experience has shown, the poor suffer the most when lockdowns are imposed.”
Imran said Pakistan was the only country which had kept mosques open last year during Ramadan. “I was proud of the way our religious scholars and imams informed the people about precautionary measures,” he said.
The national tally on Friday of total active COVID-19 cases recorded 84,976 with 5,870 more people tested positive for the deadly virus and 5,685 people recovered from the disease during the last 24 hours. At least 144 patients have died during past 24 hours, 133 of whom were under treatment in hospital and 11 out of the hospital in their respective quarantines or homes, according to the latest update issued by the NCOC.
During the past 24 hours, most of the deaths have occurred in the Punjab followed by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Out of the total 144 deaths occurred in the last 24 hours 57 of them had died who were under treatment on ventilators.
The maximum ventilators were occupied in four major areas including Multan 85 per cent, Mardan 65 per cent, Gujranwala 88 per cent and Lahore 82 per cent.
Around 562 ventilators were occupied elsewhere in the country while no COVID-19 affected person was on ventilator in Gilgit Baltistan (GB) and Balochistan.
Some 53,818 tests were conducted across the country on Thursday, including 12,659 in Sindh, 26,091 in Punjab, 7,729 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 4,713 in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), 1,135 in Balochistan, 391 in GB, and 1,100 in AJK. Around 682,290 people have recovered from the disease so far across Pakistan making it a significant count with over 90 per cent recovery ratio of the affected patients.
Meanwhile, as a goodwill gesture, social worker and head of Edhi Foundation, Faisal Edhi has offered to provide 50 ambulances for coronavirus patients in India.
Faisal, in his leter to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has expressed grief over increasing cases and deaths of the people due to coronavirus in India and offered assistance in this time of need.
He said that Edhi Foundation is ready to provide emergency medical technicians, drivers, office and supporting staff.
“We only need Indian government’s permission and co-operation from local government and police in this regard,” he added.
He further said that Edhi Foundation can work in any area as per the suggestions of the Indian government.