Pakistan Army set to enforce COVID-19 SOPs as infections surge

Islamabad [Pakistan], April 25 (ANI): Pakistan government has issued a notification allowing the provinces and federal administration to take the Army's help to enforce standard operating procedures (SOPs) amid the rising coronavirus infections in the country.
According to the government notification, the provinces and federal territories except Sindh will avail the services of the Pakistan Army for implementation of COVID-19 SOPs "as per their need", Dawn reported.
On Friday, Imran Khan appealed to the people of Pakistan to adhere to the government-prescribed SOPs to control the third wave of the virus. He said that if the SOPs are not followed, the government will be compelled to impose a lockdown.
"People are telling me to impose a lockdown today, but we are not going to do so because, and I keep repeating this, daily wagers and labourers will suffer the most," he said.
Pakistan's COVID-19 positivity ratio jumped to over 10 per cent on Sunday, a day after the country reported the highest number of deaths due to coronavirus.
As many as 5,611 fresh infections were reported in the last 24 hours, while 118 people succumbed to the virus in the same period, ARY News reported.
Expressing concern over the rapidly escalating COVID-19 situation in the country, Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Saturday had accused the government of failing to secure vaccines in time.
Bilawal said that Prime Minister Imran Khan would have to account for every single rupee of the Coronavirus Relief Fund and asked him to tell the nation as to what happened to his so-called Tiger Force that had been formed last year to implement the SOPs in the country to curb the spread of COVID-19, reported Dawn.
The statement from the PPP chairman came a day after Imran Khan announced that army would be deployed to assist the police in enforcing the SOPs against COVID-19. (ANI)