ISLAMABAD: The government would not impose complete lockdown during the fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic, which is likely to start during the current month, a government official said on Thursday.

Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar said that during the past waves of the coronavirus, the government’s strategy to handle the pandemic and overcome its after-effects had been very successful and the country was placed among the best three performing countries by the Economist’s Normalcy Index for handling it.

Addressing an oath-taking ceremony of the newly-appointed members of the National Youth Council (NYC), the minister urged the people to keep on following the standard operating procedures (SOPs) and vaccinate themselves to cope with the fourth wave in an effective manner.

However, the minister said in case the ratio of positive cases goes up, the government would opt for smart lockdown as was done during the previous phases.

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC), through a letter, informed the Kashmir Election Commission about the violation of coronavirus SOPs during the ongoing election campaigns, he said.

Meanwhile, Umar appreciated the efforts of Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Youth Affairs Usman Dar and congratulated the newly-elected members of the National Youth Council.

It was very important to know the issues of youth from them, he said, adding that one can only understand the problems of the people by consulting those who face them and then come up with proper solutions.

The minister expressed satisfaction on the representation in the council from all federating units and without any gender discrimination. A lot of work had been done in providing skills to the youth; however, he highlighted the importance of engaging the youth to tap their potential.

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