Coronavirus Emergency Fund body spends Rs285m

The provincial government has so far utilised Rs285 million from the Coronavirus Emergency Fund it has established under chief secretary.

This was shared with the participants of a meeting of the committee of the fund held under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Mumtaz Shah at the New Sindh Secretariat on Sunday. The committee members are Secretary Finance Hassan Naqvi, CEO Dr Abdul Bari of the Indus Hospital, Faisal Edhi of the Edhi Foundation, and Mushtaq Chhapra, a philanthropist.

The meeting approved an amount of Rs285 million utilised for the establishment of a field Hospital at the Expo Centre, Karachi. The committee also approved another amount of Rs5.5 million for the purchase of kits and necessary equipment for the testing and treatment of coronavirus patients.

The meeting was told that till last week funds to the tune of Rs3.551 billion had been raised, including Rs2.87 billion donated by government entities and Rs68.44 million by private entities and other individuals. The donations are pouring in the fund every day. The chief secretary said that each and every penny of the fund would be spent on the recommendation of the committee.