Pakistan will be manufacturing the anti viral drug Remdsivir within two months according to Special Assistant on National Health Services Dr Zafar Mirza. The drug will also be available for COVID-19 patients in Pakistan. Dr Mirza said that five companies in the world had been granted the license to manufacture the drug, Pakistani company being one of them.
The Islamabad administration has issued orders to open all malls, shopping centres and markets across the clock. Barbershops and all commercial centres will stay open for Eidul Fitr, said Deputy Commissioner Muhammad Hamza Shafqaat. The orders will be implemented from Monday onward. Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court instructed all provinces to open shopping malls along with all markets.
PIA resumed domestic flight operations in the country, operating two flights from Karachi to Lahore and Islamabad and one from Lahore to Karachi. As part of a series of precautions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, each alternate seat is being left empty. But the burden of these empty seats is being passed on to passengers.
The Sindh health ministry has decided to pay one month’s basic salary as a bonus to medical professionals in the province. Pakistan Paediatric Association (PPA) said that it suggested that government pay an extra allowance of Rs1,000 to doctors and Rs500 per day to nurses who are treating the patients of coronavirus. The decisions were taken in a meeting between Sindh Health Minister Dr Azara Pechuhu and a delegation of the PPA.
The Punjab Food Authority has seized thousands of tonnes of illegally stocked wheat across the province during a series of raids. The authority seized 10,000 wheat bags from Dera Ghazi Khan, 3,000 from Bahawalnagar and 2,000 bags from Layyah. A total of 20,000 bags were also impounded from a warehouse in Multan. All the warehouses where bags were found have been shut down and their owners have been arrested.
The government signed a Rs442 billion contract with a joint venture of China Power and Frontier Works Organisation (FWO) for the construction of the Diamer-Bhasha dam. Chinese state-run firm holds 70 per cent and the FWO, a commercial arm of the Armed Forces of Pakistan, 30pc share in the consortium. Signed contract covers construction of a diversion system, main dam, access bridge and the 21MW Tangir hydropower project.
Multiple shops and markets were sealed in Lahore on Thursday for not following the government SOPs. The government had issued these SOPs to shopkeepers to follow to prevent the further spread of the coronavirus. They include practices such as making hand sanitiser available within stores and ensuring social distancing is maintained. Forty-five shops in Shah Alam Market were sealed and seven in Chongi Amar Sidhu.
Pakistan along with Russia and Mexico accounted for almost half of global Facebook content removal requests. A total of 15,826 content restrictions were made by Facebook globally during July-December 2019. Facebook restricted 2,300 items within Pakistan (the second highest after Russia with 2,900 pieces removed) during the second half of 2019. In the first half, Pakistan had reported the highest volume of content (31 per cent) to Facebook.
The textile industry in Faisalabad has resumed operations despite the lockdown. An owner of a power loom said that the industry was reopened after taking into account the financial woes of workers. He said factory owners will only be able to pay their employees if business continues. Some industrial units are screening their workers for the coronavirus and making sure they follow the SOPs issued by the government as well.
Islamabad has made testing of the novel coronavirus compulsory for all restaurant employees delivering food across the capital. According to a notification, only those employees who test negative for the virus will be allowed to deliver or prepare delivery items. Restaurants and stores have also been instructed to place hand santisers at both their entry and exit points.