Prime Minister Imran Khan aims to provide ration, funds and other help to all overseas Pakistanis in these stressful times of the novel coronavirus. For this purpose he has ordered the foreign ministry to provide him data of all overseas Pakistanis. According to the prime minister, remittances sent by overseas Pakistanis contribute to a big chunk of revenues for the country and their contribution is very crucial for Pakistan.
Punjab will begin random COVID-19 testing of people for an assessment of coronavirus prevalence in the province from Tuesday. This will help draw a complete epidemiological assessment of the situation,” the Health Department of Punjab said in a tweet on Monday night. The samples will include these places in the beginning: hospitals, mandis, markets, residential areas and pharmacies.
The Punjab government has launched a mobile application Taleem Ghar in order to facilitate the students confined to their home due to the coronavirus lockdown. Previously, the government launched a TV channel by the same name. Students from class one to eight as well as matric and intermediate will be able to study using this app very soon.
The federal government is going to pay the electricity bills for small businesses across the country for the months of May, June and July. Federal Minister of Industries and Production Hammad Azhar announced this. He also announced a package for labourers laid off during the coronavirus lockdown during a Monday afternoon press conference. He said Rs75 billion has been allocated for the package.
Over 80% mosques in Punjab and Islamabad have failed to implement government directives and safety guidelines, finds a report. The number of coronavirus cases in Pakistan crosses 13,000. The report has been published by the Islamabad-based NGO, Pattan Development Organisation. Team of observers visited 194 mosques of Punjab province, as well as the capital city. Also, they compared the situation with a checklist of 20 rules the ulema had agreed to with the president.
The Hyderabad district administration has set up a system allowing people to get themselves registered for rations via SMS. They have to send an SMS with the word ‘Ration’ and their CNIC number and send it to 88434. They will then get a token via mobile which will allow them to receive the rations. If it’s a repeated CNIC number we get a message, said one official.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has suspended international flights till midnight on May 15, according to a notification issued on Sunday. The new directives come as the number of confirmed cases in the country rose to over 12,700 with 269 deaths. On April 18, Pakistan had suspended all domestic and international flight operations till April 30 in a bid to contain the coronavirus.
China sent another team of doctors and medical aid to Pakistan that reached the Islamabad International Airport on Saturday. According to the ISPR, the team has an expertise in dealing with patients affected by the novel coroanavirus. The doctors will stay in the country for the next two months. They will also analyse Pakistan’s medical services and will advise doctors and paramedic staff working on the front line.
An anti-narcotics court in Lahore exempted PML-N leader Rana Sanaullah from appearing before it in a drug possession case on Saturday. A petition for exemption was submitted by Sanaullah’s lawyers. It said that the PML-N leader can’t attend court hearing in person because of the threat of the coronavirus. He said that it is unsafe for travel without security and he can’t travel with his security guard.
Doctors of PIMS Islamabad urged the government to tighten the coronavirus lockown in the upcoming weeks. All Employees Association Spokesperson Dr Asfand emphasised that the next few weeks were very crucial in controlling the deadly pandemic in the country. Dr Asfand pointed out that the doctors and paramedical staff working on the front line were aware of the actual situation caused by COVID-19.