Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan has ruled out the possibility of imposing a general lockdown in the country as it grapples with the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, reported Dawn.

Chairing a meeting of the National Coordination Committee, he said, “we have to adopt a balanced policy where the spread of the virus can be prevented and where the poor man and the country’s economy are least affected.”

Poor people are the most affected by the virus, he said, adding, “the focus of our entire strategy is to provide them relief and protect them from the negative effects of the pandemic."

Most hospitals in Pakistan’s major cities are running out of beds. Reuters reported two-thirds of ventilators and almost 80 percent of beds are occupied in major cities.

Khan also expressed “concern” over non-compliance of SOPs by people and stressed the importance of wearing a mask. It is the best way to contain the spread of the virus, he said citing a general global experience.

So far, the country has administered the Chinese-made Sinopharm vaccines to around 800,000 people, Faisal Sultan, the special assistant to the prime minister on health, informed in the meeting. 

Furthermore, the country received half a million doses of Sinopharm from China on Wednesday, and an additional half a million doses are expected to arrive on Thursday. In the coming months, it also expects supplies from other international vaccine alliances.