Covid-19 ‘Not Exploded’ In South Asia
WHO experts say that the coronavirus is growing in South Asia but has still not exploded. They say numbers explosion may happen soon.
Soumya Swaminathan, WHO’s chief scientist, noting India has a population of 1.3 billion, said that the 200,000 reported cases, “look big but for a country of this size it’s still modest”
The global health body ‘s experts explain that a person with mild infection can still test positive for the virus 2-3 weeks after contracting it and those with severe cases “for much longer”
Pakistan Records Highest Cases, Deaths In 24 Hours
On Friday, Pakistan has recorded its highest single-day spike in Covid-19 cases and deaths. Over 4700 people were tested positive while 97 lost their lives.
Punjab has reported over 2000 new cases and 22 deaths while 1353 people got infected with the virus.
SC Made Wearing Masks Mandatory
Supreme Court has barred entry into the court building of people not wearing masks or flouting other SOPs. A notification issued by the apex court said that the competent authority has ordered that wearing a mask and getting fever checked mandatory.
Earlier, Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed had also taken notice of violation of social distancing in the courtroom. He ordered people to obey the SOPs and take precautionary measures while attending the court.
PM Rejects Imposing New Lockdown
Prime Minister Imran Khan has rejected the possibility of another lockdown to stop the fast spread of the coronavirus. The prime minister said lockdowns had created chaos in the entire world as the developed nations came under economic pressure due to complete shutdown.
A lockdown for [the privileged] is not a problem, but it is a problem for the working class,” he added.
Meanwhile, authorities have also started penalizing people over SOPs violations. 1,311 markets and 83 industries were sealed across the country.
Mortality Rate Stands Low Among Children
The mortality rate among children stands low in Pakistan. Over 3000 children under the age of 10 have so far tested positive while three have lost their lives.
Over 6000 children and teenagers between 11 to 20 years got infected with the virus but only eight of them died of the disease.