Police have taken into custody 90 people for violating the lockdown in Karachi on Monday as the cases were registered against 24 people for coming out of their homes for no valid reasons. The Sindh government has imposed a lockdown across the province in an attempt to stem the spread of coronavirus. All public places, offices, public transport and bus stands would remain closed for 15 days.
To contain the spread of the coronavirus, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has asked banks to waive charges on any online fund transfers. SBP has instructed banks to waive all charges on fund transfers through online banking channels such as inter-bank fund transfer. They will also not incur any cost in case of using ATMs or visiting bank branches to transfer large amounts and can avoid the use of cash.
Vocal powerhouse Rihanna dropped a staggering $5 million for the coronavirus relief efforts through her non-profit organization, the Clara Lionel Foundation. The Umbrella crooner is doing her part in battling the coronavirus pandemic that has taken the world under its firm grasp. The news was publicized by the foundation of their official Twitter account.
Italy on Saturday shut all non-essential factories after recording another record coronavirus toll that brought its fatalities to 4,825. The country’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said that they will stop down the country’s productive engine, but we will not stop it. Italy has notched a rapid succession of records that seemed unimaginable when a retired Italian builder became the first person in Europe to die of the new illness.
Streaming television giant Netflix launched a $100 million fund to help actors and production crews endure the hit to paychecks caused by the coronavirus outbreak. The fund is meant to help offset hardship in the “creative community,” with most of the money going to financially troubled workers on Netflix productions around the world, according to Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos.
Bollywood star Rishi Kapoor advised Prime Minister Imran Khan to take adequate precautions in this global crisis. In a tweet on Thursday, the Kabhi Kabhi star said that the people of Pakistan are also dear to them and once they were one and also expressed concern. The actor also added that this was a global crisis and ego did not matter.
Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has cancelled all its international flights till March 28. This move comes into effect tonight at 8pm. This does not mean that Pakistani airspace has been closed and the move is to curb the spread of the noverl coronavirus, clarified PIA spokesperson Abdullah Khan. He added that all flights are being cancelled and tickets will be refunded.
Fans of the hit TV show Friends will have to wait for the special reunion episode as it has become the latest victim of the production shutdown caused by the coronavirus outbreak. The reunion was due to film within the next week but it has now been pushed to May at the earliest. The reunion has been in the works for months but was officially announced in February.
Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari called for a countrywide lockdown, as the number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan exceeded 370. Bilawal said that this was not the time to criticise the Prime Minister and we all have to jointly fight the virus. The PPP chairman said that self-isolation was necessary to contain the spread of the virus.
Pakistan on Thursday closed the Wagah Border temporarily in its bid to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus in the country. The border will remain closed for 2 weeks, according to the notification issued by the interior ministry. The moves comes after the increase in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Pakistan.The moves comes after the number of confirmed coronavirus cases hit 329 in Pakistan.