A total of 8,049 violations of the coronavirus Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) have been reported to the National Co-ordination and Operation Centre (NCOC) from across Pakistan in the past 24 hours.
The coronavirus causes the Covid-19 respiratory disease.
To ensure public safety, compliance of health guidelines for containment of the spread of the coronavirus, dedicated teams of provinces, including Azad Jammu Kashmir (AJK), Gilgit-Baltistan and the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT), ensured that those not adhering to health instruction/ guidelines are sensitised as SOP compliance not only ensures individual safety but also protects the family and the community.
President Dr Arif Alvi has urged the people to believe in and implement the SOPs.
In a tweet, the president shared a survey report published in The Economist showing that Pakistanis were the highest believers in the world that coronavirus was not being spread deliberately.
According to the survey conducted in March this year, around 72% of Pakistanis expressed their belief that no foreign force was spreading the coronavirus deliberately; rather, it was something that emerged naturally.
The survey was conducted in 28 countries all over the world, including Switzerland, Germany, UK, USA, Japan, India, Malaysia, Russia, France, Italy, Korea, and Turkey.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has meanwhile said that Pakistan is among the pioneers of the smart lockdown strategy.
In series of tweets, he observed that a lockdown meant collapse of the economy and a steep rise in poverty in poor country, crushing the poor as has happened in India.
To check the spread of the coronavirus, Khan once again emphasised the creation of public awareness about the severity of Covid-19 and importance of adhering to SOPs.
The prime minister said that the world has discovered that the smart lockdown is the only strategy to contain the contagion.
He appealed to civil society, the media, ulema and the Corona Tiger Force “to create awareness amongst the public about severity of the pandemic”.
Meanwhile, taking notice of non-adherence to the SOPs for the prevention of the coronavirus, the Supreme Court has barred entry into the court premises of people not wearing a face mask or bypassing temperature and symptoms checking, and not passing through the disinfectant tunnel.
A notification issued by the Supreme Court said that a face mask must be worn the entire time any individual is within the court premises.
The notification said it had been noticed that the preventative measures for minimising the spread of the coronavirus were not being fully observed by court’s staff, the employees of other offices located in the court building, and general public, visitors and litigants.
Therefore, the notification said, the competent authority had taken notice of this trend and ordered that the wearing of a facemask and getting checked for fever/temperature are mandatory for all persons entering the premises of the apex court at the principal seat of Islamabad and branch registries in Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, and Quetta.
Just last week Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed took notice of the violation of social distancing rules at the Supreme Court.
Heading a five-judge bench, the top judge had asked during hearing why the courtroom was jam-packed.
“What happened to the formula of social distancing? Who are you and why are you sitting here?” he asked while pointing at the lawyers, media persons, litigants and other people present in the courtroom.
“I don’t want something to happen in this court. You should care about social distancing and take precautionary measures,” Chief Justice Ahmed said.