MULTAN:Secretary Primary and Secondary Healthcare South Punjab Tanveer Iqbal Tabassum said on Monday that all out efforts were being made to vaccinate population above 12 years of age against coronavirus while arrangements were ready to give booster shots to the vaccinated population of South Punjab.
Presiding over a meeting here Monday to get update on vaccination process and enforcement of SOPs to contain fifth wave of the novel coronavirus, he said that sixteen more cases emerged in south Punjab during last 24 hours elevating the figure of verified cases to 60,623.
He directed officials to enforce SOPs strictly and ensure vaccination process should cover all the remaining unvaccinated population.
Ten (10) new cases were reported from Multan, and one each from Vehari, Bahawalpur, Bahawalnagar, Rahimyar Khan, Dera Ghazi Khan and Layyah. However, no new case was reported from Rajanpur, Lodhran, Khanewal and Muzaffargarh and no virus related death was reported during last 24 hours from any part of south Punjab.
Over 1.6 million people have undergone the screening process so far while over 28.6 million people have received vaccine, the secretary said.
He said that five laboratories were conducting coronavirus tests in south Punjab including BSL III Nishtar hospital Multan, Shahbaz Sharif hospital Multan, Civil Hospital Bahawalpur, BSL III Dera Ghazi Khan and BSL III Sheikh Zayd Hospital in Rahimyar Khan. Moreover, testing kits for verification of Omicron variant of the virus have also been made available at BSL III laboratory of Nishtar hospital.
Secretary appealed the people to be careful and cautious adding that they can be safe from virus only by way of following SOPs and vaccination. He advised people to avoid going out door or attending gatherings unnecessarily and ensure practicing social distancing and wearing masks.