PIMS, schools receive PPE against COVID-19

Islamabad : While calling upon the Islamabad district management to stringently enforce the SOPs for containment of COVID-19, TheNetwork for Consumer Protection and Oxfam Pakistan Wednesday extended a generous donation of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to doctors, and masks and handwashing soaps to schools.

A total of 40 PPE kits were handed over to Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), where doctors and the other healthcare workforce are actively involved in attending a substantial COVID patient load. Moreover, 4,000 masks and 1m944 handwashing soaps were also distributed among government schools.

The joint activity was aimed at promoting adherence to SOPs by improving the availability of essential items for self-protection. Understanding the vulnerability of school children, the intervention was enabled with the help of the Federal Directorate of Education, which issued a No Objection Certificate allowing distribution of supplies to various government schools in Islamabad.

Speaking on the occasion, the CEO of TheNetwork Nadeem Iqbal said, frontline doctors are the key to success in the fight against COVID-19. As such, the foremost task is to protect them so that they can effectively cope with the disease burden. In addition, school going children in government schools are also vulnerable and require support in terms of self-protection against COVID.

According to latest estimates by the Global Burden of Disease USA, only 25-40% people reported the use of a mask when going out, stated Nadeem. The Pakistan government has played a wonderful role in widespread and well-planned dissemination of Covid-19 SOPs using various media and social media platforms, yet compliance to SOPs remains low.

Many media reports suggest that educational institutions in Islamabad are flouting SOPs, leading to a rise in the number of reported Covid-19 active cases and deaths. Soaps, masks and PPEs are the only and best self-defence.