Govt Taking All Measures To Contain Coronavirus: Health Minister

Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid said on Wednesday the Punjab government was taking all measures to contain coronavirus and in this connection, 70 million out of 110 million people of Punjab would be vaccinated by the end of this year

FAISALABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 22nd Sep, 2021 ) :Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmin Rashid said on Wednesday the Punjab government was taking all measures to contain coronavirus and in this connection, 70 million out of 110 million people of Punjab would be vaccinated by the end of this year.

Talking to the media after chairing a syndicate meeting of Faisalabad Medical University (FMU), she said the Punjab government was undertaking most vigorous vaccination campaign and 43 million individuals had so far been vaccinated while the campaign was still going on steadily. She said that though corona was a serious problem, yet dengue cases were on rise in various cities due to climate change and ample rains this year.

She said that 736 cases of dengue had so far been reported in Punjab including 623 only in Lahore.

She said that in Faisalabad, 6 cases were reported but people should had to be very careful in this regard.

Dr Yasmin said that as a result of strenuous efforts of the government, the number of corona patients had come down significantly. Fourth wave of corona (delta variant) was very dangerous and its 3,000 cases were being reported daily in Punjab but now the figure had come down to 1,031 cases daily while 21 corona patients have died in Punjab during last 24 hours.

She said that 85 per cent corona affected people were unvaccinated while 15% victims were vaccinated but their disease-severity was less as compared to unvaccinated patients, so it was very important for all people to get them vaccinated as early as possible.

Dr Yasmin Rashid said the government had planned to vaccinate 80 per cent population of Punjab by the end of this year, however, precautionary measures including social distance and use of facemasks were much imperative to contain this disease.

She said that 40 per cent people had got double dose of corona vaccination while 60 per cent individuals had taken first jab so far and they should got second dose also as early as possible during prescribed time to prevent from coronavirus completely. She said the government was always on alert to deal with dengue menace and since January 15 meetings of the Cabinet Committee had been held in this regard, in which, Chief Secretary, Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners participated in addition to other officials of health department.

The Health Minister said, "We have no shortage of dengue workers as we have more than15,000 trained dengue workers, however, public cooperation is imperative to overcome this menace completely". She said that neat and clean environment plays a pivotal role in containing dengue epidemic. Therefore, people should keep their offices, houses and other places clean by immediately removing accumulated and stagnant water as dengue larvae could not breed without water.

She said that FMU syndicate had approved Rs 9 billion for public sector hospitals affiliated with the FMU, out of which Rs 2 billion would be spent on provision of medicines to needy patients. She said that free medicine would be provided to cancer patients.

The Health Minister said, "The government has planned to provide health cards to 29.3 million families in Punjab by end of this year and in this connection, we will start registration from November 15 and CNIC is prerequisite for availing this facility".

She said that earlier, the maximum amount of this card was Rs 720,000 which had been increased up to Rs 1 million. Now the facility of chemotherapy for cancer patients and neurosurgery treatment would also be provided to the card holder, she added.

Dr Yasmin said the government had decided to ensure adequate supply of oxygen in all major hospitals of Punjab and in this connection, first oxygen generating plant would be made operational in Allied Hospital Faisalabad during this month. Similarly, the government would complete construction and upgrading of existing hospitals including Children Hospital which started in the tenure of previous government while a new state-of-the-art Dental Hospital would also be established in Faisalabad, for which, PC-1 had been prepared, she added.

FMU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Zafar Ali Chaudhry, MPA Adil Pervez and others were alsopresent on the occasion.