By: AswathyP
The National Command and Control Centre (NCOC) on Sunday said that the country saw a 28% reduction in COVID-19 cases due to the “smart lockdown” and the implementation of standard operating procedures (SOPs).
According to the NCOC, the government’s decision to impose “smart lockdown” in areas reporting a spike in cases has produced the desired results as the number of cases has seen a steady decline.
Quoting data collected by Media, the NCOC said “a significant reduction in the number of positive cases has emerged as the country crossed the 100-day mark in its fight against coronavirus.
It added, “Smart lockdowns, a stronger enforcement effort, compliance of SOPs and the nationwide change in the behaviour can be credited for the current gains in the fight against COVID-19.”
The NCOC’s report comes two days after Pakistan became the 11th most affected country in the world after reporting 243,000 COVID-19 cases and crossing the 5,000 fatalities’ mark.
The rising death toll has also resulted in Pakistan overtaking China — the epicentre of the virus — in the number of deaths. Pakistan has also become the 18th worst-hit country by the coronavirus in terms of fatality.
The NCOC added that as countries around the world juggle with strategies to flatten the COVID-19 curve, Pakistan’s strategy won an unexpected endorsement from the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Guterres in his Twitter post had acknowledged that there was no choice between health or jobs in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. “They are interlinked. We will either win on all fronts or fail on all fronts,” said the UN Secretary-General.
