On the one hand, deaths from Corona are on the rise, on the other hand, there is poverty, unemployment, and a weak economy.
In such a situation, a meeting of the National Coordinating Committee (NCC) chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan was held at the Prime Minister’s House to consider the government’s decision to further relax the lockdown.
The meeting was attended by the Chief Ministers of the four provinces and concerned provincial officials through video link. The meeting reviewed all the options including maintaining lockdown or not.
‘Corona is not going anywhere, people should be careful otherwise it will be to their own detriment’
In a media briefing after the meeting, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that Corona is not going anywhere, people should be careful otherwise it will be to their own detriment. Lockdown is not a cure for the coronavirus, but a way to stop its spread. The spread of corona can also be reduced by following SOPs and adopting social distance.
The Prime Minister said that everything except specific sectors has been decided to be opened under SOPs. But the public is urged not to think that the lockdown is over and start living as before. Follow the SOPs otherwise curfew will have to be imposed in the most affected areas and then businesses in those areas will be ruined.
“The more people are careful, the more they follow SOPs, the better we will be able to deal with this crisis,” he said. And minimize the burden on your doctors and healthcare staff.
Prime Minister Imran Khan said that at least this year we will have to deal with the virus. The rich countries also decided to open the lockdown, having already said that the coronavirus would spread. There is a lot of pressure on our administration and police, some departments will remain closed while others are reopening. He said that the details of the sectors which were not to be opened would be made public soon.
The decision to bring back a large number of Pakistanis stuck in abroad
PM Imran Khan said that it was decided in the NCC meeting that now a large number of Pakistanis stranded abroad would be brought back.
“The first problem was that we had limited screening facilities and the provinces objected not to bring in large numbers of citizens from abroad, so a limited number of Pakistanis were being brought back,” he said.
Imran Khan said that now we have decided that the number of flights is being increased to bring back the Pakistanis stranded abroad. They will be tested at airports and then sent home. If the result is positive, they will have to be quarantined at home.
‘People with money are following SOPs, common man has different attitude’
Imran Khan said that our observation is that people with money are following SOPs. But the common man has a different attitude towards Corona. In this regard, Tiger Force volunteers will educate the people on how to live with Corona.
Tourism Sector will be Open under SOPs
The Prime Minister said that the tourism sector should be opened, as in some areas tourism takes place only for three to four months of summer. If this time goes into lockdown, poverty in these areas will increase further. So we will open tourism sector under SOPs.
Doctors should not think that we are not worried about them, Prime Minister Imran Khan
Addressing the doctors and medical staff across the country, PM Imran Khan said, “I have been aware from day one that if the number of cases increases, the burden on you will increase but our 13 to 150 million people are being badly affected by the lockdown.”
Imran Khan said that there is a fear among the people associated with the medical sector that if the lockdown is softened, the burden on them will suddenly increase. But I assure you that we are all aware of you and we are ready to help you in any way we can. The Prime Minister said that he would soon meet the doctors’ associations in this regard.
Imran Khan is bringing a new program regarding capacity in hospitals
Prime Minister Imran Khan said that we are hearing that the hospitals have run out of space. Therefore, we are launching a program to determine on a daily basis which hospitals in which cities have ventilators available and where they are not.
The Prime Minister said that at present more than 50 percent of ventilators are available in every city and at the same time we are increasing our capacity.
Finally, Prime Minister Imran Khan once again appealed to the people to strictly follow the SOPs under which everything is being opened. If the public acts, the pressure on hospitals will be lessened. That is how we will fight the virus until it is vaccinated.
The Prime Minister said that apart from the decisions taken at the NCE meeting. They will be unveiled tomorrow after a meeting of the National Command and Control Center (NCOC) chaired by the Federal Minister for Planning Asad Omar.