Khyber Pakhtunkhwa will be converting its schools, colleges and business centres into sub jails amid the coronavirus pandemic. According to reports, the prisons of the province are highly over-crowded which poses a threat to prisoners, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The government has, therefore, decided to shift them to 18 places in the province that have been declared sub jails.
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said that the next two weeks of the lockdown will be more intense. He appealed to the public to adhere to the restrictions. He emphasised that the reason all provinces have agreed to increase the lockdown is because our combat with the novel coronavirus isn’t over yet. He also explained explained that certain industries were exempted from the lockdown after a calculated analysis.
Punjab is preparing to conduct 10,000 tests for the novel coronavirus in a day, revealed Chief Minister Usman Buzdar on Wednesday. More than 43,000 COVID-19 tests have been conducted in the province so far, he said. According to Buzdar, the province has been taking precautionary measures to contain the virus by disinfecting areas. Field hospitals with 4,500 beds have been prepared and eight new laboratories will soon be opened.
Students and teachers from remote areas of the country will especially benefit from the new Teleschool Channel, Special Assistant to PM on Information and Broadcasting Firdous Ashiq Awan said. The channel was launched by Prime Minister Imran Khan on April 13 to make up for the academic loss faced by students because of coronavirus pandemic. The channel will also contribute to to the overall literacy rate in the country, she added.
The Islamabad High Court has rejected a petition filed against the Private Educational Institutions Regulatory Authority (PEIRA) for ordering educational institutions across Islamabad to reduce their monthly fees by 20%. On April 8, the PEIRA issued a notification instructing private educational institutions to cut their tuition fees for April and May by 20% due to the coronavirus lockdown.
Shops in Faisalabad are still operating with their shutters down for the police but open for people. A lockdown has been imposed in the city to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus across the country. Section 144 has been imposed in Faisalabad, which means that there is a restriction on gatherings of more than five people and movement has been restricted too.
Prime Minister Imran Khan announced that he will start a campaign to mobilise overseas Pakistanis for funds to fight against the novel coronavirus in the country. A series of tweets by the Prime Minister’s Office said that the premier along with the support of his Special Assistant on Overseas Pakistanis Zulfi Bukhari will personally handle the matter. He will address Pakistanis abroad as well.
The Civil Aviation Authority has ordered thermal scanners to be installed at the domestic lounge of the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi. The airport management has been ordered to implement the order before domestic flights in the country resume. It has also been instructed to ensure all precautionary measures are taken. The CAA confirmed that the machines will be installed at airports in Peshawar, Lahore, Islamabad, Multan and Faisalabad by April 13.
A total of 13 areas in Lahore have been sealed because they have reported a higher number of coronavirus cases. Raiwind had already been sealed and 12 other areas were sealed Saturday. These are Sikandria Colony, Bhatta Chowk, Bedian Road, China Scheme, Mughalpura, Samnabad, Shahdara, Small Industries, Bahria Town and some areas in Saddar, Gulshan-e-Ravi and Rustam Park.
The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has blocked eight mobile phone numbers over Ehsaas programme fraud. Many people filed a complaint with the PTA that they received messages from these numbers asking for their details to register for the Ehsaas Emergency Cash programme. The PTA has sent these numbers to the FIA to investigate who is behind these scams.