ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Zafar Mirza on Monday said that more than 500 areas had been identified across the country where cases of the novel coronavirus were increasing rapidly.

The country reported 3,708 Covid-19 cases and 71 deaths over the past 24 hours, taking the national tally of cases to183,300 and casualties to3,628.

Briefing a meeting of the National Assembly`s Standing Committee on National Health Services presided over by MNA Khalid Hussain Magsi at the National Institute of Health here, Dr Mirza said the government had developed standard operating procedures (SOPs) to stop the spread of Covid-19 under the National Command and Control Centre (NCOC) and ensure their enforcement through local administrations.

He said that due to the current economic situation it was impossible to implement a complete lockdown across the country; however, the government was focusing on a smart lockdown policy under which more than 500 areas had been identified where the number of Covid-19 cases was increasing day by day.

The SAPM informed the committee that 1,000 ventilators would reach the country by the end of this month to facilitate the critical coronavirus patients, while 5,000 health workers had been trained to meet the emergency situation.

Opposition members of the committee, including Dr Nisar Ahmad Cheema, Dr Shazia Sobia, criticised the government`s policies and asked why the government was unable to follow the SOPs prepared by the World Health Organisation to contain the spread of Covid-19 in the country.

The committee also expressed concern over non-availably of oxygenfor the parliamentarians affected by Covid-19 in Parliament Lodges.

561patients onvents According to data released by the NCOC, 561 ventilators are occupied across the country. However, there is no patient on vents in Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.

More than 6,862 violations of health guidelines/instructions were observed across the country during the last 24 hours due to which over 880 markets/ shops and six industrial units were sealed and 1,229 transporters were fined.

Meanwhile, an amount of Rs228 million has been allocated for provision of meals to the coronavirus-affected people under the Ehsaas ration programme.

According to a statement, a memorandum of understanding was signed in this regard at the Benazir Income Support Programme headquarters. According to the MoU, PepsiCo Pakistan has provided $1.4m (Rs228m) to deliver meals to Covid-19 patients and those who are in urgent need of nutrition.

As the economic activity decelerated due to the Covid-19 epidemic, an increasing number of people are faced with loss of income and earning opportunities.

Daily wage earners are particularly vulnerable as they face an immediate loss of livelihood. In these circumstances, the need for providing meals to the underprivileged communities becomes the foremost requirement.

The ration programme is run by the Poverty Alleviation and Social Safety Division under the prime minister`s Ehsaas programme to uplift the marginallsed people. Under the Ehsaass ration programme, a digital portal has been createdfor donors andfor those in need of meals. The portal aims to connect genuine donors directly with those in realneed.

Furgan Ahmed Syed, Chief Executive Ofñcer of PepsiCo Pakistan and Afghanistan, said: `Millions of Meals` Programme has now reached out to communities in all provinces of Pakistan and is supporting them with the day to day nutrition needs. We are working with capable partners who are enabling us in accessing those in need. I am glad that other companies have stepped in and joined this important mission of making meals available to those in need. These are hard times for our country, but we are a resilient nation and together we will overcome this challenge.