Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that the people need to co-operate with the government, given the country’s limited resources to deal with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“We will have to learn to live with the coronavirus for some time, as its cure is not forthcoming soon,” he said.
Expressing his views on the coronavirus situation in Islamabad, Khan said that medical workers around the world are fighting against the disease, like their peers in Pakistan.
He said that scientists and researchers worldwide are of the view that vaccine for coronavirus may take more time to develop.
The prime minister said that the government has to monitor the spread of the coronavirus, which causes the Covid-19 disease, as well as its impacts on wider society.
He said that Pakistan, despite its limited resources, gave a stimulus package of $8bn to its people, whereas rich countries like the US allocated $2.2tn and Japan $1tn for this purpose.
Khan said that the circumstances in Pakistan are different compared with the more developed countries.
“Here, we have to save our people against starvation as well,” the prime minister said.
He said that according to a survey, there are 25mn daily wage earners in Pakistan.
Khan said that today 150mn people have been directly or indirectly affected by lockdown.
To help them, he said that cash transfers to those who have become unemployed due to the coronavirus will be made from tomorrow.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation Dr Sania Nishtar later elaborated on this phase of the Ehsaas Emergency Cash programme.
“We know that cases of coronavirus will increase in Pakistan in the coming days, but we also have to protect our people from hunger,” Prime Minister Khan said.
He said that the number of deaths due to coronavirus in Pakistan has so far been less than the projections.
“However, we have to take maximum precautionary measures to not burden our limited medical resources,” Khan said.
He said that the government is allowing businesses to reopen, to restart economic activity, but people must follow the standard operating procedures (SOPs) issued by the government, which include guidelines on social distancing and handwashing.
Meanwhile, Minister for Economic Affairs Hammad Azhar said that in first phase of the easing of the lockdown, pharmaceutical and essential items shops were allowed to resume business.
He said that in the second phase, the construction industry was opened so that people can work and earn their living.
Azhar said that in the third phase, vehicle and motorcycle manufacturing companies are allowed to reopen from tomorrow next, with strict SOPs.
He said that decision to open large shopping malls has been left to provinces.
Speaking on the occasion, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza, the de facto health minister, said that 100,000 health workers, including doctors, nurses, and paramedics, will be trained for correct use of personal protection equipment (PPE).
He said the first phase of this training will be completed in four weeks.
Mirza added that another 5,000 intensive care unit (ICU) workers will be trained to handle coronavirus patients.
He said that it is great achievement for the country that a Pakistani pharmaceutical company has concluded its voluntary licensing agreement with a US pharmaceutical company Gilead for the manufacture and sale of the drug remdesivir.
He said this agreement also allows Pakistan to export the medicine to 127 countries facing the coronavirus pandemic.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Poverty Alleviation Dr Sania Nishtar said that category four of Ehsaas Emergency Cash programme will start from tomorrow.
She said that category four is for the people who have lost their jobs due to Covid-19.
Nishtar said that under this category, around 34,000 applications have been received so far.
She said deserving people can register themselves for this category on pmo.gov.pk.
Nishtar said that the final decision for the applicants, who have registered themselves through message service on 8171 for Ehsaas Emergency Cash, will be made tomorrow.
Successful applicants will receive their verifications via short message service.
Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Security Division Moeed Yusuf said that more than 23,000 stranded Pakistanis in different countries have been brought back so far.
He said that keeping in view the best international practices, the 48-hour quarantine condition has been removed, and now Pakistan’s capacity to bring back its citizens working abroad has increased.
He said that as per directions of Prime Minister Khan, 11,000-12,000 people will be brought back every week.
Yusuf said that the government’s top priority is to help workers stranded in the Gulf states.
Information Minister Shibli Faraz has meanwhile said that the government is pursuing a comprehensive roadmap to handle the coronavirus challenge.
Addressing a news conference in Islamabad along with Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Accountability Shehzad Akbar, he said that despite the economic constraints, the government gave a mammoth stimulus package of Rs1.2tn to cushion the economic impact of the pandemic on the people.
Giving breakdown of the stimulus package, he said this included Rs480bn for the business community and exporters, and Rs570bn for relief to the citizens.
The information minister said that under the Ehsaas programme, Rs104bn have so far been disbursed amongst the deserving families.