No immediate plan to go for stricter lockdown: govt.

Byline: Amir Wasim

ISLAMABAD -- As the country registered thousands of new Covid-19 patients and witnessed many deaths from the virus on Thursday, the government expressed 'satisfaction' over the situation in hospitals, saying it has no immediate plan to go for a stricter lockdown.

Talking to Dawn after attending a meeting presided over by Prime Minister Imran Khan to review the situation in the country in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic and locust attack, Information Minister Shibli Faraz said that though there were reports from some big metropolitan cities about load on certain hospitals due to an increase in the number of Covid-19 patients, the situation and conditions in hospitals overall were 'satisfactory'.

He said the participants and the prime minister were updated on the facts and figures of coronavirus patients and the state of preparedness and position in the country's hospitals. In response to a question regarding reports in the media about increased pressure on hospitals, the minister explained that the load on few hospitals was because of the general trend in the public to go to one or two main and famous hospitals of the city and some of these hospitals might have 60 per cent occupancy now.

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Mr Faraz said the meeting was informed that presently there were 404 critical patients in the country out of which 161 were on ventilators which meant they still had a large number of ventilators available for patients and there was no need to be panicked in this regard as 'we are comfortably placed and well-equipped'.

The minister said the number of Covid-19 patients was still less than what they had previously estimated. Responding to a question, he expressed his concern over reports of violations of SOPs (standard operating procedures) by the public, but said there was no decision to impose a 'strict lockdown' in the country.

Mr Faraz said there...

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