Better compliance of SOPs has reduced spread of Covid-19: Asad Umar

Better compliance of SOPs has reduced spread of Covid-19: Asad Umar

Islamabad (Web Desk): Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar has said that better compliance of standard operating procedures (SOPs) by the people has reduced the spread of Covid-19 cases in the country.

Briefing the media at the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) in Islamabad on Friday, the minister noted that there are less deaths in hospitals today as compared to mid June.

"Similarly, there are less deaths of patients on ventilators as well," the minister added.

Asad Umar said that the situation could further improve if the people continue to follow the precautionary measures.

He appreciated the efforts put in by the administration and provincial governments to ensure compliance of the SOPs.

The minister said that Karachi is the area where improvement is yet to be seen.

"We are engaged with the provincial authorities to improve the situation there as well," he said.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Pakistan on Friday rose to 221,896 after about 4,087 new coronavirus cases surfaced in the country over the last twenty-four hours.

Overall, 78,956 cases were reported in Punjab, 89,225 in Sindh, 27,170 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 10,666 in Balochistan, 13,195 in Islamabad, 1,524 in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) and 1,160 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

According to the government's Covid-19 portal, the death toll related to coronavirus has reached 4,551 with 78 fatalities reported during the last 24 hours while around 113,623 patients have fully recovered from the disease.

Meanwhile, the worldwide COVID-19 tally has reportedly surpassed 10.9 million and death toll tops 524,000.