On Saturday the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) ordered the provinces to come up with guidelines for managing tourism activities to avoid the second wave of coronavirus.
The NCOC meeting chaired by Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, Asad Umar, talk about opening up of the tourism sector with standard operating procedures (SOPs) and safety guidelines for the control of the disease.
The administrations of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Jammu and Kashmir were requested to make all efforts to implement SOPs on incoming tourists.
The SOPs include the usage of facemask and density control, meaning a limited number of tourists can be allowed at a time. Other provinces must also adopt measures to control the surge of tourists. For the next three weeks, special efforts to slope up testing and contact tracing of tourists through establishing of special guard sites at tourist spots and airports will be make sure.
The doctors’ representative body said as the government had been elating restrictions on all sectors for the betterment of people it should save them from coronavirus pandemic as well as the worsening economic conditions.
“It is appreciable that the government will review the situation before opening schools. We suggest that antibodies tests of all staff members should be carried out before the opening educational institutions because one infected person can spread the disease to the entire institution. Moreover, it is suggested to open the educational institutions stepwise: primary and pre-primary classes should be the last to be opened,” Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) secretary-general Dr. Qaisar Sajjad said.
He said it had been experiential that 80 to 85pc people did not follow SOPs nowadays. Even in government offices people do not adopt preventive measures, therefore it is the responsibility of the government to implement SOPs stringently, he added.
Dr. Sajjad said it was a fact that the number of positive cases and deaths had been decreasing in Pakistan since July, but, unfortunately, as per information, cases were increasing in Skardu, Gilgit, and other nearby areas.
“We are scared that our graph might rise again. It could increase the burden on our hospitals and healthcare workers just like it happened after Eidul Fitr. Subsequently, 101 doctors and 24 paramedics have sacrificed their lives during the war against coronavirus,” he said.
“Wear masks, keep social distance, wash or sanities your hands, avoid going out, and avoid crowds. The public should support the government to normalize life and economic conditions in Pakistan,” Dr. Sajjad added.
