Minister for Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar has said that lockdown is not a good remedy to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic as the only solution to eradicate this ailment is vaccination, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.

Addressing a presser after the NCOC meeting on Thursday, Asad Umar along with Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan urged the nation to get vaccinated against the Covid-19. 

Asad Umar was of the view that cities could not be locked down due to the fear of coronavirus. He said the government was going to close down things that caused the spread of the virus. 

Dr Faisal said that the teachers and people who worked in public sector could not go to work without getting Covid-19 vaccine jabs after Aug 31. He said that vaccination was mandatory for the drivers of school buses and conductors. The people who work in the public sector entities are also required to get themselves vaccinated before Aug 31, he added.

He said that vaccination was mandatory for hotel owners and staff. Besides this, the vaccination is also compulsory for the drivers of trains, buses, taxis and rickshaws. He warned that if people wanted to do business, they were required to get inoculated. He asked these people to get vaccinated by Aug 31. 

He further said that that the people who were inoculated would be eligible for the air travel from Aug 1. However, those who could get only one dose of the vaccine so far, could also be able to fly.

Asad Umar eulogized the Sindh government’s measures to control the Covid-19 pandemic in the province saying that the Sindh government was taking good steps in this regard. He said that the federal government would help the Sindh government to bring the coronavirus pandemic under control. He vowed to provide the province every kind of assistance including the help of Army and Rangers officials in compliance of Covid related SOPs. 

Earlier, the NCOC meeting took stock of the coronavirus situation and expressed its concern over the rising number od cases in Sindh. The meeting also deliberated on the implementation of Covid curbs during Muharram-ul-Haram. It decided to take strict decisions for making people to comply with the SOPs during Muharram. 

Asad Umar posted a tweet on Thursday saying that on the third day in a row a new record for daily vaccination has been set. He said 680,000, then 778,000 and yesterday 850,000. Punjab, Sindh, KPK and Balochistan all set new daily vaccination records yesterday. Well done Pakistan, but we want to accelerate even more, he added. 

https://twitter.com/Asad_Umar/status/1420641964798750720