COVID-19: Islamabad hospital directs employees to get vaccinated or face disciplinary action
Order comes after health workers showed reluctance to receive jabs
Islamabad: Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS), Islamabad’s premiere health facility, has directed its employees who were registered but are not vaccinated yet to get vaccinated or face disciplinary action.
In a circular dated Feb 27, the PIMS Joint Executive Director (JED) Dr Minhajus Siraj has directed the PIMS’ “registered” employees not to “wait & see,” rather they should go for vaccination.
The office order has come in the backdrop of the fact that health workers in the federal capital are still reluctant to receive jabs despite the fact almost a month has passed since the arrival of vaccines.
Out of 8,000 doses not half have been utilized so far, admitted an official of the District Health department of Islamabad.
According to the estimates, there are around 7,000 health workers in the federal capital but the average number of those getting vaccines a day is around 50.
Feeling well
Islamabad’s District Health Officer, Director General Health and even Prime Minister’s top aide on health have got vaccinated and later reported in the media they were feeling quite well, yet the trend is quite low and alarming.
“At PIMS, we shall issue our staff explanation and show cause notices if they don’t receive jabs,” said Dr Minhaj.
There are a total 4,300 employees of the hospital but 2,200 are on coronavirus duties and we have asked them to get vaccinated, said Dr Minhaj.
Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Khalid Jawed Khan has tested positive for coronavirus and after his report has quarantined himself at home.
Khan is detected positive a day before the Supreme Court of Pakistan is going to announce its opinion on a presidential reference for upcoming senate elections.
Through the reference President Arif Alvi has sought the Supreme Court’s opinion on holding Senate elections through open ballot.
The top court is set to announce its opinion on Monday March 1.
Before Khalid Javed Khan, several politicians, including Planning Minister Asad Umar, Industries and Production Minister Hammad Azhar, Interior Minister Sh Rashid Ahmed, Chairman PPP Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, Sindh Governor Imran Ismail, Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah, National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser, PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif, his son Hamza Sharif and former PM Shahid Khaqan Abbasi have tested positive and recovered from it.
Returning to normal
Seven districts in Punjab will not follow 5-day regular attendance rule despite the announcement by Federal Education Minister Shafqat Mehmood that schools across the country are returning to normal 5-day scheduled from March 1 in view of drop in cases.
Punjab Education Minister Murad Raas has released a list of districts which will follow the alternate school day rule until April 1 due to higher coronavirus incidences there.
The districts with high positivity rates are: Lahore, Gujrat, Multan, Rahim Yar Khan, Sialkot, Rawalpindi and Faisalabad.
Pakistan on Sunday reported 23 deaths caused due COVID-19 and 1,176 new cases in a period of twenty-four hours. Death toll in the country after 23 fatalities has reached 12,860 while the countrywide number of cases has surged to 579,973.
According to the National Health Ministry’s official portal there are 1,562 critical cases in the country while 871 were recovered from COVID-19 during the last 24 hours taking the overall number of recoveries to 545,277.