Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday announced to create a special volunteer force to help fight the coronavirus outbreak which has infected 1,298 people as Pakistan opened its borders with all-weather ally China for a day to accept much needed medical supplies.
The number of coronavirus patients in Pakistan has reached to 1,298, according to the latest data. There were 440 patients in Sindh, 419 in Punjab, 131 in Balochistan, 176 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 103 in Gilgit-Baltistan, 27 in Islamabad and 2 in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. So far, nine patients have died, 23 recovered and 7 others are in critical condition.
Interacting with the media after meeting of the National Core Committee on the coronavirus, Khan said that registration for Corona Relief Tiger Force will begin on March 31.
The voluntary force will help to identify poor and needy in various areas and government will directly help them. The force will also provide food to those who cannot go out of their homes due to lockdown, he said.
Khan also announced to set up a Corona Relief Fund which will be used to collect donations and that money will be distributed to needy people.
He said that the government has decided to lift restrictions on the movement of goods in the country in order counter the threat of shortages.
Goods transport service will be fully restored from tomorrow, he said.
Minister for Planning Asad Umar said a national command center was set up at the National Disaster Management Authority where representatives of federal government and provinces would sit together to coordinate and take key decisions.
Advisor on health Dr Zafar Mirza said that unlike the rest of the world, 61 per cent of patients in Pakistan are between 21-50 years of age.
Meanwhile, China was providing critical medical supplies to Pakistan and the Khunjerab pass between the two countries was opened on Friday to let the goods enter Pakistan, according to the Chinese embassy in Islamabad.
"Medical supplies from Xinjiang, China to Pakistan is delivered through Khunjerab (5,000m) port today, highest land port on Earth. Both sides from China and Pakistan braved the cold, cleared the roads, made good preparations for the delivery of the medical supplies at the Khunjerab Pass, the mission tweeted on Friday.
China on Thursday asked Pakistan to open the border between the two countries for one day on Friday so that medical supplies to fight coronavirus pandemic could be transported into the country.
China has also sent 56,000 coronavirus testing kits, N-95 masks and other equipment to Pakistan. Governor Sindh Imran Ismail received the consignment at the Jinnah international Airport in Karachi.
Pakistan and China describe their relations as all-weather strategic cooperative partnership and have firmly supported each other on issues concerning each other's core interests.
A Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party lawmaker of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly from Mardan was tested positive for coronavirus on Friday.
"I am not saddened by my diagnosis; my conscience did not allow me to look the other way while others were suffering. God willing, I will recover soon and continue to work for the people of my constituency," Member of Provincial Assembly Abdul Salam Afridi said in a video message.
Complete lockdown has been imposed by the regional government and strict measures were taken to prevent the further spread.
According to the Sindh Health and Population Welfare Department, 11 of the new cases reported across the province on Friday are local transmission cases from Karachi.
The Sindh government has given divisional commissioners the provision to declare emergency in their divisions.
The Ministry of Religious Affairs has extended the date for successful Hajj applicants to submit their medical certificates till April 10. March 27 was the last day to submit the certificates.
Several cases of extreme negligence were also being reported from different areas.
Close to 40 to 50 people in Lahore defied government orders and offered the Friday prayers at the iconic Badshahi mosque. However, they maintained a distance during the prayers.
In Islamabad, Friday prayers were held at Faisal Mosque where nearly 40 people offered prayers by maintaining some distance.
The government had issued a notification limiting the number of people between three to five who can attend Friday and congregational prayers in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus.
In Pakpattan, some 200 kms from Lahore, police arrested a groom and 50 others present at his wedding for violating the lockdown rules.
Meanwhile, Lahore's Services Hospital doctors have reportedly refused to admit suspected and confirmed coronavirus patients to the facility after a doctor was infected.
According to officials, over 200 suspected patients of COVID-19 were denied admission at the Services Hospital on Thursday and Friday.
The doctors sent the samples of these suspected patients to the lab for tests and asked them to revisit the hospital to collect their reports. Of them five patients were tested positive. It is feared that these patients might have infected several others before collecting their reports from the hospital.
The Punjab government has launched a probe into the matter. Young doctors and nurses in different public hospitals have been protesting for not getting protective medical kit and gear.
Punjab Police on Friday presented a guard of honour to the doctors and nurses performing their duties at Lahore' Mayo Hospital.
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