Tazeen Akhtar
Country Representative World Health Organization for Pakistan, Dr Palitha Gunarathna Mahipala has appreciated the corona control strategy of Pakistan. He has said that the fourth layer is on in Pakistan but it is under control and death rate is going down. He noted that it is thanks to vaccination of a large population that immunized the people against the pandemic contraction.
He was talking to selected journalists of Islamabad including Editor ” Pakistan in the World” at his office on 25 Sep 2021. He said that Pakistan is going super fast on vaccination of the population. Rate of vaccination is 1 Million people per day that is quite satisfactory. He said that the lowering death rate in the fourth layer is the result of vaccination to a vast population but still people need to observe the precautions and SoPs advised by the government.
He said that wearing mask, washing hands and keeping physical distance is for people’s own safety. Vaccination improves your immunity to fight the attack of the virus. He shared that one can be affected even after taking the vaccination.
Country Representative, about Pakistan’s Corona control strategy, admired the smart lock downs and fixed hours of markets in Pakistan. He said that first layer played havoc only after the Eid festival. Government took strict measures afterwards that helped in minimizing the disaster during the second layer.
He breifed the journalists with facts and figures on multi media in his presentation on the worldwide state of pandemic. America, Canada, Brazil, China are the most hit areas of the corona virus. While Pakistan is observing the deaths number coming down rapidly from 5,600 in the third layer to approximately half of that toll. Same is with the number of cases.
First layer took more than 6500 lives in Pakistan but second layer was controlled with smart lock downs and fixed market hours. Third layer again had a higher number to more than 5500 because people felt relieved after the second layer was controlled to half of the damage of the first layer. Pakistan government again imposed strict measures that proved beneficial in controlling the destructive effects.
To a question, He cleared that it is a misconception that Afghanistan is safe from corona. He said that we have figures about Afghanistan. Pandemic has hit that country as well. Regarding lifting corona CoPs in UK, he said no country has made such decision so far.
To another question that Saudi Arabia is not approving Sinopharm vaccine, he replied that W.H.O approves Sinopharm along with all other vaccines. It is equally beneficial as are the others.
