Islamabad: Pakistani Planning Minister Asad Umar said on Tuesday the country would kick off its coronavirus campaign today in the presence of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
Pakistan reported its lowest one-day rise in novel coronavirus infections in nearly three months on Tuesday as authorities began to ease restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the disease, including opening all schools and universities across the country.
1,220 people were found to be infected with the virus in the past 24 hours, the lowest one-day increase in new cases since November 2, when 1,167 infections were detected.
“The corona vaccination campaign will start today in the presence of the Prime Minister and Inshallah the national corona vaccination campaign will start tomorrow in all the provincial capitals,” Umar said in a tweet. “The vaccine will be given to frontline health workers first.”
— Asad Umar (@Asad_Umar) February 2, 2021
On Monday, Pakistan received a batch of 500,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine from China as a gift. The South Asian nation of 220 million is expected to receive another tranche of 1.2 million doses that Pakistan has pre-booked from China. Pakistan has also secured 17 million doses of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 vaccine under a global scheme to deliver coronavirus treatments to developing nations.
On Monday, Pakistan resumed in-person classes at primary schools and universities after closing them down for a two-month break in November as a second wave of the COVID-19 disease swept the nation.
The government of PM Khan has ruled out a complete lockdown and used a policy of localized, or smart, lockdowns, with the implementation of safety rules. Khan has repeatedly said Pakistan’s economy cannot afford a complete lockdown and citizens would have to “live with” strict health guidelines.
The country’s last comprehensive lockdown was lifted in May.
