People asked not to use anti-virus medicines without doctors' prescription.

LAHORE -- The Corona Expert Advisory Group (CEAG) Chairman Dr Mahmood Shaukat on Monday prohibited the use of medicines without doctors' prescription.

'This medicine (Actemra) is only to be used in specific conditions because there is no theoretical and academic background of its usage for the cure of coronavirus patients,' he said, while addressing a press briefing. Regarding the use of anti-viral drugs, he said, 'We have taken measures to avoid preventable deaths, which may increase if people use anti-viral drugs like Dexamethasone. Regarding the smart lockdown, Professor Mahmood Shaukat said that the strategies varied, depending on situation on the ground. 'There is no rule of thumb and we have to think according to our own demographic realities. We have the capacity of testing 12,000 persons for the province of 12 crore people. Now we have to decide how to use these 12 thousand efficiently,' he said, and added, 'If we do random sampling of 12,000 people, we might identify 200 Covid-19 cases. It all depends on our resources.' 'We are not following random sampling in the cities where we have imposed smart lockdowns. After accessing the level of infection transmission, we will decide whether to finish or prolong the smart lockdowns in selective eight cities of Punjab,' he added.

Prof Mahmood Shaukat informed that 153 ventilators are still available in Lahore. 'So, the patients are advised to contact 1122 for medical assistance because they will take you to the hospital where ventilators are still available,' Shaukat counseled.

'The COVID-9 patients sometimes do not get beds at hospitals because more than 100 ambulances are busy bringing them to the hospitals, resulting in the occupation of the beds before the ambulance that had booked the bed reaches the hospital,' he said, and added, 'We will work on our data entry system regarding available facilities at hospitals and will make sure routine errors are not repeated. We are also working on complaint portal, and it will be operational very soon.'

Professor Saqib Saeed informed that there was no definite cure for the coronavirus and whatever treatment there was, it was supportive. 'Currently, there is a lot of...