Cases Withheld By Oil Field Official
A manager of the Oil Field of Oil and Gas Development Company Limited (OGDCL) was taken into custody for showing negligence by failing to notify authorities of 4 OGDCL employees who diagnosed positive for COVID-19. The oil field has been sealed for disinfection and all employees have been quarantined. Authorities state that had the manager informed the authorities in time, the infection should not have spread.
Police Threatened By COVID-19
Punjab police demand personal protective equipment (PPE) and one month’s salary as ‘health package’, similar to the health package granted to doctors and health workers on the frontline in the battle against the pandemic, after 56 officers in the province contract COVID-19 to date. Meanwhile, approximately 100 personnel of the Sindh police have been diagnosed coronavirus-positive so far, with 14 having recovered while 84 are still undergoing treatment.
Equipment Awaiting Procurement
The Punjab government has failed to procure safety equipment donated by China over a disagreement over freight charges quoted by PIA, severely delaying the supply of desperately needed COVID-19 equipment. However, the Punjab health department has claimed that Rs. 29 million in shipment fees have been paid to PIA, and that the equipment will be flown from Beijing soon.
Congregational Prayers Exempted
The National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) has decided to maintain the relaxations afforded to congregational prayers at mosques under-enforcement of SOPs for the second half of Ramadan. The decision comes in spite of repeated warnings from medical experts and doctors’ bodies to restrict gatherings at mosques to prevent the spread of the virus, as well as the worrying boom in cases since early April.
