Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has announced that the province will go into a two-week lock down at midnight tonight (March 22). The province has the highest number of cases in the country and the minister had already hinted. Citizens will not be allowed to leave the house unless it is essential and the ban also extends to places of worship.
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.
Robert Downey Jr will be returning to Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) as Iron Man. Previously, Marvel fans unquestionably went through an emotional roller-coaster ride following the events of Avengers: Endgame. Hollywood star Robert Downey Jr. is now said to be willing to take a pay-cut to return to the MCU with more films, owing to his latest film Dolittle’s failure at the box office.
Pakistan’s retail stores go online and have started providing online sales after the global lock down due to the spread of the novel coronavirus. The Sindh government also announced a partial lock down in the province, leading to all the shopping malls and restaurants to close down for a period of 15 days which effected the sales of stores.
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.