Coronavirus cases in Pak cross over 36,000, PM says country more vulnerable to poverty, hunger

Pakistan is more vulnerable to poverty and hunger than the coronavirus-induced lockdown and it is important to keep a balance between health needs and financial problems of the people, Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Thursday even as the number of COVID-19 cases in Pakistan rose to 36,717 and the death toll to 788.

Khan chaired a meeting of National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) to discuss the latest pandemic situation in the country.

Addressing the meeting, Khan said that it is important to keep a balance between health needs and financial problems of the people.

“Our population is more vulnerable to poverty and hunger than lockdown. We should take decisions by keeping in mind the ground reality about the problems faced by the people,” he said.

Khan said adopting safety measures was a key to fight the disease but instead of forced implementation, the people should be sensitised to adopt them. The meeting also discussed the issue of opening transport and shopping plazas but no decision was taken on the two issues.

Later, Khan tweeted that NCOC reviewed the country's coronavirus situation during its 20th consecutive session.

"The meeting took an in-depth review of existing beds, ventilators and other medical facilities in hospitals, keeping in view the projections of possible spread of #Covid-19 and present data. Purpose of thorough examination of existing facilities was to gauge the capacity of hospitals," the Prime Minister's Office said.

The meeting also reviewed progress on implementing standard operating procedures and guidelines at a provincial level. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Khan joined world leaders in calling for a "people's vaccine" to combat the coronavirus. The Prime Minister's Office quoted the premier as saying: "We must work together to beat this virus."

Emphasising the need for pooling resources, he added that "no leader can rest easy until every individual in every nation is able to access a vaccine free of charge".

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Pakistan rose to 36,717 on Thursday. Punjab reported 13,561 cases, Sindh 14,099, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 5,423, Balochistan 2,239, Islamabad 822, Gilgit-Baltistan 482 and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir 91 cases.

Prime Minister Khan will participate in a meeting to be organised under COVID Action Platform of World Economic Forum (WEF), the Radio Pakistan reported.

As lockdown was eased Pakistan resumed trade activities with Iran at Taftan after two trade gateways were reopened, which were closed two-and-a-half months ago due to the coronavirus outbreak. PTI SH PMS

PMS