Tag: COVID-19 pandemic

  • Samina Peerzada gets vaccinated, praises government

    Samina Peerzada gets vaccinated, praises government

    The Government of Pakistan has started the COVID-19 vaccination drive for those above the age of 60, with various vaccination centres operating in different cities of the country.

    Among those who received their shot is Samina Peerzada, who also praised the government for the facility.

    Sharing a picture of herself receiving the jab, the veteran actor said: “Thank you and Shabash Pakistan”.

    Other prominent personalities who received the shot include lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan and journalist Najam Sethi, both of whom praised the vaccination facility set up by the government.

    Meanwhile, others are also sharing their vaccination experiences on social media and praising the facilities.

    https://twitter.com/khanmaira089/status/1370777671291002880

  • COVID-19: Sindh re-imposes smart lockdown

    COVID-19: Sindh re-imposes smart lockdown

    Amid rising COVID-19 cases, the Sindh government has re-imposed restrictions to curb the spread of the virus. The government has imposed smart lockdown across the province until April 15 to fight against the third wave

    According to a notification issued by the department:

    • All businesses e.g. markets, shopping malls, marriage halls etc. will operate from 6am to 10pm (except essential services i.e. medical stores, clinics, hospitals, petrol pumps, bakeries, milk shops, restaurants etc)
    • Amusement parks to close by 6pm
    • 50% staff in all public/private sector offices will be allowed
    • No indoor marriages will be allowed. As per earlier decisions only outdoor events/marriages will be allowed with a maximum limit of 300 persons till 10pm under defined SOPs.
    • No indoor dining will be allowed at restaurants.
    • All indoor gathering places, gyms, indoor sports facilities, cinemas and theaters, shrines to close.
    • Outdoor gatherings will be allowed only in open spaces with a maximum limit of 300 individuals.

    The province has reported 261,411 cases so far. However, 232 cases have been reported in the last 24 hours.

  • Mehwish Hayat calls out those holding ‘live concerts’ amid ‘deadly third wave’

    Mehwish Hayat calls out those holding ‘live concerts’ amid ‘deadly third wave’

    Mehwish Hayat has expressed her disappointment and called out those holding live concerts in Islamabad amid rising cases of COVID-19.

    Read more – Mehwish Hayat slams India for spreading conspiracy theories against Muslims amid COVID-19 crisis

    “This is very disappointing to be having live concerts with so many people while we are still not free of COVID,” wrote the actor on Twitter. “Cases are on the rise again and we are experiencing a deadly third wave.”

    Mehwish urged people to act responsibly and reminded them that “Jaan hai to jahaan hai!“.

    According to the latest figures given by National Command Operation Center (NCOC), Islamabad has recorded 371 cases in the past 24 hours. While Punjab has recorded 1191 cases and total confirmed cases recorded in the last 24 hours are 2,253.

    Amid the drastic increase in cases, the Punjab Government has reimposed numerous restrictions in different districts of the province including a complete ban on indoor and outdoor dining, closure of all commercial activities and markets by 6 pm on weekdays and suspension of all sports and all cultural activities. The Sindh Government has also issued directives for a smart lockdown in the province.

  • COVID-19: Here’s what you can and cannot do amid lockdown in Punjab

    COVID-19: Here’s what you can and cannot do amid lockdown in Punjab

    Amid a drastic rise in COVID-19 cases in Punjab, the provincial government has decided to reimpose numerous restrictions in different districts of the province.

    Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar tweeted an update on the new restrictions, saying that COVID-19 cases, especially the UK variant, were spreading across the province rapidly.

    “According to the advice of health experts, starting from Saturday night, we have decided to implement strict coronavirus SOPs in districts with over 5% positivity rate for the next 15 days,” he wrote.

    Later, the Punjab health department issued a notification listing restrictions across the province.

    “The positivity rate in some cities is constantly rising and third wave is looming, which poses a serious and imminent threat to public health,” read the notification, adding that the restrictions are being put in place under the Punjab Infectious Diseases (Prevention and Control) Act 2020.

    Meanwhile, here’s what you can and cannot do during the lockdown:

    • All commercial activities, establishments and markets will close by 6 pm on weekdays and completely closed on weekends.
    • This excludes medical services, general stores, bakeries, milk and meat shops, tire puncture shops, fruit and vegetable shops, tandoors, petrol pumps, oil depots, LPG outlets and filing plants, agriculture machinery workshops and spare parts shops, printing press, call centres (with 50% staff and no public dealing).
    • Complete ban on indoor and outdoor dining in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Multan, Gujranwala and Gujrat and only takeaway/ home delivery will be allowed in these cities. Only takeaway and home delivery from restaurants will be allowed.
    • Wedding halls are to remain closed in Lahore, Rawalpindi. Sargodha, Faisalabad, Multan, Gujranwala and Gujrat from March 15. Only outdoor functions will be allowed with a maximum of 300 guests.
    • Parks will close at 6 pm.
    • Offices are to follow a 50% work from home policy.
    • Cinemas and shrines will stay closed.
    • Indoor gatherings have been banned. Outdoor gatherings are allowed with a maximum of 50 people in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Faisalabad, Multan, Gujranwala and Gujrat and 300 persons (outdoor) in the rest of the province for a maximum of two hours.
    • Sports and all cultural activities will still be banned.
    • Industrial activities and establishments are exempt from these restrictions

  • Surge in COVID cases: Educational institutions to close down in at least 7 cities

    Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan and Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mahmood, in a press conference, have announced that educational institutes in Punjab will remain closed from March 15 to 28. The decision was taken after a meeting of the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) to review the situation of coronavirus in the country.

    The government officials said that educational institutes in Punjab will remain closed from March 15 to March 28 to contain the spread of Covid-19, adding that spring break will begin in seven districts of Punjab, including Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Lahore, Gujrat, Multan, Rawalpindi and Sialkot. Mahmood said the same decision will also apply to educational institutions in Islamabad, Muzaffarabad and Peshawar.

    However, the decision of the closure of the schools will not be applicable to schools that are already conducting examinations.

    Educational institutions in Sindh and Balochistan would continue with 50 percent attendance every day.

    Earlier today, Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar presided over the NCOC meeting. To contain the spread of the virus the in the country, the following decisions have been taken:

    • Strict compliance of Mask Wearing will continue across the board.
    • SLDs / Micro SLDs will continue to be imposed based on the disease prevalence / hotspots.
    • 50% work from home policy will be implemented on the discretion of federating units. However, it will be enforced in ICT with immediate effect.
    • Time limit of 10:00 PM on all commercial activities will be re-enforced with immediate effect, less essential services.
    • Amusement Parks across the country will be closed at 6:00 PM..
    • Earlier decision of allowing indoor weddings, indoor dining and opening of cinemas and shrines with effect from March 15, 2021 has been withdrawn. However, outdoor dining / take away will continue to remain open as per previous practice.
    • Outdoor gatherings will continue to remain limited to a maximum of 300 individuals with strict enforcement of COVID -19 SOPs.
    • Review of all enforced  non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) will be carried out on April 12, 2021.

    The above-mentioned decisions regarding non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) are the baseline decisions. Federating units are at liberty to impose stricter NPIs in selected cities/districts keeping in view the local disease trend/ spread.

  • Vaccination of people 60 and above to begin on March 10

    Vaccination of people 60 and above to begin on March 10

    Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar has announced that vaccination of people over 60 years would start from March 10.

    Read more – ‘Govt does not plan to buy vaccines anytime soon’

    “Vaccination of people 60 years and older will be starting from Wednesday March 10,” announced the Minister, adding: “Vaccinations will be done in reverse order by age – which means the oldest person who has registered will be vaccinated first.”

    Read more: Here’s how you can register for COVID-19 vaccine in Pakistan

    As per reports, Pakistan’s positivity ratio has risen from 3.21% to 4.57% in one month. Pakistan has reported 592,100  virus cases and 13,227 deaths so far. 1,592 cases and 22 deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours in the country.

  • Shahveer Jafry stirs controversy with claims of ‘hi-fiving’ PSL players

    The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Thursday announced that the sixth edition of the Pakistan Super League (PSL) was being postponed indefinitely due to rising COVID-19 cases among players and officials involved in the tournament.

    Soon after the news broke, PSL fans expressed their hurt and anger over the decision, with many pointing fingers at Peshwar Zalmi’s management for breaching the biosecure bubble as one night before the opening match, Zalmi coach Daren Sammy and captain Wahab Riaz were spotted meeting franchise owner Javed Afridi, who was not part of the bubble.

    Later, a Twitter user posted a video of Shahveer Jafry in which the vlogger boasted that he breached the bio-secure bubble of two players of Peshawar Zalmi.

    “Mainay toh to aik dou cricket players ko high-five bhi karlia hai,” Shahveer can be heard saying in the video. Jafry was talking to Mahira Khan and Zainab Abbas while watching the match at the National Stadium Karachi.

    Jafry was at the stadium with Mahira, who is the Brand Ambassador of Peshawar Zalmi, for the promotion of his upcoming web series Baarwan Khiladi. The cricket-based series is produced by Mahira Khan, and will feature Danyal Zafar, Kinza Hashmi, Saba Faisal, Sarmad Khoosat and Khaqan along with Shahveer.

    Jafry and Mahira have not yet responded to the controversy.

    Meanwhile, PCB, during the press conference, clarified that Peshawar Zalmi was not involved in any bubble breach.

  • ‘Govt does not plan to buy vaccines anytime soon’

    ‘Govt does not plan to buy vaccines anytime soon’

    “The government aims to handle the COVID-19 health challenge through herd immunity and donated vaccines as currently; it has no strategy to buy more vaccines,” National Health Service (NHS) Secretary Amir Ashraf Khawaja has told the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

    According to reports, National Institute of Health Executive Director Maj Gen Aamir Ikram has informed that a single dose of Chinese vaccine CanSino costs $13 which is why Pakistan was depending on international donors and friendly countries, like China to fulfil its vaccine requirement.

    Read more – Govt announces free vaccine for all citizens

    The NHS secretary further told PAC that Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinopharm had committed to give one million doses of the virus vaccine [to Pakistan], adding that 0.5m doses had already been handed over. Out of those 0.5 million doses,  around 275,000 doses had been administered to healthcare workers fighting against COVID-19 on the frontlines.

    He said the second phase would include the health officials working in hospitals and other health facilities, adding that people aged 65 and above could also register themselves for vaccination via a text message to 1166. According to him, the process of vaccination to aged people was due to start by March 5 but was delayed because the consignment was delayed.

    Khawaja also said that Pakistan plans to vaccinate 70 million people this year.

    Read more – Will Pakistan get enough COVID-19 vaccines?

    According to the NHS secretary, Pakistan will also get 16m free doses of Indian-made Oxford-AstraZeneca’s Covid-19 vaccine through Gavi that would cover upto 20% of the population of Pakistan. The Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (Gavi) is a public-private global health partnership with the goal of increasing access to immunisation in poor countries.

    In response to a question by the PAC chairman, the secretary said Pakistan would receive the first batch of AstraZeneca vaccine made by Serum Institute of India by the mid of March and the rest was expected to arrive in the country by June.

    He said that another Chinese company had conducted the phase-three trial of CanSino vaccine in Pakistan, adding that a total of 18,000 people were inoculated and the vaccine’s efficacy stood at 85pc.

    The PAC chairman highlighted that some people had some concerns regarding the side effects of the vaccine and suggested that the top leadership of the country should get vaccinated first to remove doubts in the general public’s mind.

    In response to a question by Hina Rabbani Khar, the NHS secretary said that despite the government’s offer to the private sector to buy the vaccine, no serious buyers had so far shown interest. The government had earlier allowed the private sector to import vaccine to cater to the needs of those people who could afford its price.

    According to him, the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan has so far received applications only from three companies for the import of vaccines, but their applications were rejected because they did not give any detail and specification of the vaccines they intended to import.

  • Canadian man celebrates COVID-19 vaccination with bhangra

    Canadian man celebrates COVID-19 vaccination with bhangra

    Canadian dancer Gurdeep Pandher celebrated his COVID-19 vaccine jab by dancing on a frozen lake.

    Sharing a video of himself dancing, Gurdeep told his followers that he received his COVID vaccine on March 2 and headed straight to the frozen lake in Yukon, Canada and did the bhangra to spread positivity and joy.

    A 55-second video clip shows Pandher performing upbeat bhangra steps on the frozen lake as he celebrated his vaccination.

    “Yesterday evening I received my Covid-19 vaccine. After that, I went to a frozen lake to dance bhangra on it for joy, hope and positivity, which I’m forwarding across Canada and beyond for everyone’s health and wellbeing,” wrote Gurdeep in the caption.

    Pandher’s video has gone viral on social media with over one million views on Twitter with users lauding the dancer for spreading smiles amid the pandemic.

    https://twitter.com/Christo75118472/status/1366782645879910406?s=20

  • ‘PSL 2021 to continue as per schedule’

    ‘PSL 2021 to continue as per schedule’

    The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced that the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL) will go ahead as per schedule amid false reports that the league could be postponed for a few days due to an outbreak of COVID-19 in the Islamabad United camp. It also said that the stadiums will see 50 percent crowds until March 16.

    Director Media and Communications at PCB Samiul Hasan Burney announced the news at a press conference and revealed that three out of the 244 PCR tests conducted returned positive.

    Two of the three infected personnel were foreign players, including Islamabad United’s Fawad Ahmed, whose positive test was made public on Monday and led to the rescheduling of Islamabad, Quetta fixture.

    “We conducted 244 PCR tests, in addition to the rapid tests conducted,” said Burney. “Of the 244 tests, three have come back positive. Two foreign players and one support staff have tested positive.”

    While the identity of the other foreign player has not yet been disclosed, journalist Abdul Ghaffar has said that the third person is a member of the support staff.

    Meanwhile, sports journalists and analysts are urging the board and public not to panic, highlighting that such incidents are common in events of such scale.