ISLAMABAD: Special Assistant on National Health Services Dr. Zafar Mirza says the government is pursuing a holistic strategy to combat coronavirus.

In a statement on Wednesday with reference to the WHO letter, he said we have made best sovereign decisions in the best interest of our people. He said we have to make tough policy choices to strike a balance between lives and livelihoods.

Zafar Mirza said Pakistan has consciously but gradually eased generalized lockdowns but at the same time it has focused on enforcement of SOPs in shops, industries, mosques and public transport etc. Mask donning has been made compulsory in the country. Along with this, we have developed a robust tracing, testing and quarantine policy to identify hotspots and cordon off them. Currently there are more than seven hundred such smart lockdowns in place.

The Special Assistant said other plank of our strategy is ramping up of our health system to cater to the growing number of patients.

Zafar Mirza said our choice of policies has been guided by the best evidence available about the disease spread and our best assessment of the fast deteriorating socio economic conditions in the country.

The Special Assistant said Pakistan appreciates its longstanding partnership with the WHO in health including in this pandemic.