Flights to repatriate stranded Pakistanis to begin tomorrow: Virus curbs to remain in place until April 14

ISLAMABAD: Acknowledging the positive impact of the ongoing containment measures to curb the spread of coronavirus, the government has announced an extension in countrywide restrictions till April 14 and vowed to make them more effective with the support of the public.

The decision was taken with the consensus of all four provinces at the sixth meeting of the National Coordination Committee (NCC), chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan here, said Asad Umar, the Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives at a press briefing on Wednesday alongside Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on Health Dr Zafar Mirza and Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on National Security, Moeed Yusuf.

Briefing the media, Umar admitted that lockdowns and other restrictions to contain the virus outbreak had proved effective as a slowing trend was noticed in the virus trajectory. He said the situation could worsen in the absence of such measures. He informed reporters that the NCC had decided to extend virus restrictions for the next two weeks.

He, however, clarified that there would not be any restriction on the transportation of goods in the country. He said the first special flight would operate from Islamabad from April 4 to bring back stranded Pakistanis from abroad. But, he added, domestic flights would remain suspended. Dr Zafar Mirza also emphasised the need for making the existing restrictions more effective with the help of the nation. He said the current virus trend could not only be maintained but slowed down if everyone understood their responsibilities.

Spelling out the steps being implemented from early last month, including the closure of educational institutions and ban on mass gatherings, Dr Mirza called for ensuring social distancing, especially to protect the old and sick people, from the highly contagious infection.

The PM’s aide urged people to comply with the limitations on movement and refrain from going out for non-essential work. He pointed out that positive results of such measures were already visible, and the situation could be further improved through more effective implementation on restrictions.

He expressed annoyance over complaints that some public and private offices were still using biometric system for staff attendance, and warned them to avoid such risky practice.

Giving latest virus statistics, he said 21 per cent of confirmed Covid-19 cases had recovered so far, as 24 patients recovered in the last 24 hours alone. He also said 974 cases were undergoing treatment in hospitals, adding that 10 of them were in a critical condition while the rest were on the way to recovery from the infection.

At the moment, he said, 8,893 people were quarantined, adding 5,190 such people underwent virus testing and 19 per cent of them came out positive. He, however, said a decline had been recorded in positive cases in the people under quarantine. He said there were total 17,331 suspected Covid-19 cases in the country after the increase of 1,436 suspected cases in the last 24 hours. On average, he said, 12 per cent increase had been recorded in the cases.

The PM’s aide said there were at present 2,039 confirmed virus cases in the country with the addition of 178 new cases in the last 24 hours.

Moeed Yusuf told the media 17 special PIA flights would be operated from April 3 (tomorrow) to April 11 to the UK, Canada and other destinations to bring back stranded Pakistanis. He said initially about 2,000 passengers would be repatriated and that operation would be reviewed constantly keeping in view quarantine capacity.

After the federal government’s press conference, the Sindh government said it would follow suit and extend its province-wide lockdown to April 14. Sindh will also implement a complete lockdown on Friday from 12-3pm to prevent prayer congregations, government spokesperson Senator Murtaza Wahab said. The decision was made after consultation with Ulema, he added, noting that all kinds of business activities would also remain suspended during the 12noon-3pm time period.