Nation-wide tally rises to 730; No AJK
inter-provincial transport for 3 days; 34 trains to stop running until 15th of Ramazan
Staff Reporter
Islamabad
The Pakistan International Airline on Saturday suspended all international flights in the wake of the novel coronavirus’ spread across the world for two weeks, but PIA, however, will be allowed to bring back its planes. On the other hand, confirmed coronavirus cases in Pakistan rose to 730 after new cases were reported from throughout the country.
Sindh remained the worst affected with a total of 396 cases. Part of the surge was attributed to 89 new patients who have tested positive for the virus in Sukkur, the provincial health department said.
The decision to suspend international flights comes “in accordance with the directives of Government of Pakistan,” Pakistan International Airline added. According to the tweet, all cancellations will be effective from March 21, starting at 8pm until March 28.
Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on National Security Moeed Yusuf, while speaking to the media, said the deicision was taken in a meeting of National Coordination Committee on coronavirus, presided over by PM Imran Khan.
However, he said certain Pakistan International Airline flights that are currently in various European and other countries will be allowed to return, adding that cargo flights are also exempted from the restriction.
“This is a temporary suspension — for two weeks – a decision taken after taking input from all advisers and relevant groups,” said the SAPM. Furthermore, this suspension is also not applicable on diplomats travelling to Pakistan. “The restriction is only on passenger planes,” he clarified.
Moeed said around 200,000 people are scheduled to return to Pakistan over the next two weeks and the government is taking all possible steps to bring them back to their homeland.
In addition to this, he said Pakistan embassies and missions around the globe have been instructed to provide every possible assistance to all such travelers who have been stranded due to this restriction on international flights.
“We urge those affected by this decision to cooperate with our missions abroad, and place as little burden on them as possible, as our facilities are stretched,” the PM’s aide said.
Sindh remains the worst affected with a total of 357 cases. Part of the surge was attributed to 89 new patients who have tested positive for the virus in Sukkur, the provincial health department said.
In Punjab, according to Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar, there are 137 cases.
According to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa health department, the number of cases in the province stands at 27 after two new patients were reported in addition to two reporter hours prior. One of two new cases has history of foreign travel while the other “is a contact of previously confirmed case”.
Of the earlier two cases reported in the day, both had travelled abroad. In Gilgit-Baltistan, the total number of cases rose to 55 from the previous total of 30, after 25 new cases were reported in the region.
According to the chief minister of Gilgit-Baltistan, the appointment of information department secretary Fida Hussain has especially been made and he will be the region’s only verified source for information pertaining to coronavirus patients.
Meanwhile, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza said that all provinces of the country now have laboratories where coronavirus tests can be done. Mirza said that the number of labs would increase in the future.
He added there were 103 cases in Balochistan, 30 cases in Giligit Baltistan and one reported cases in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.
Dr Zafar Mirza said that government is taking steps on emergency basis to deal with coronavirus and urged masses to follow national-level measures to fight this disease. The Special Assistant said that National Coordination Committee, which was formed on March 20, will monitor situation of coronavirus in the country. He also said that coordination between provincial and federal governments will also be improved.
Dr Zafar Mirza further said that there are more than 3000 people who are spending their time in quarantine facilities. He also said that Pakistan currently has 14 labs working, established by the government of Pakistan and this is across the provinces, including GB.
Dr Zafar added “we must practice social distancing across the cities and in different provinces. We have seen an increase in the practice, but more needs to be done.”
Earlier, the Balochistan chief secretary had reported that the confirmed number of cases in the province had reached 104. Sindh on Saturday also reported 15 new cases, taking the provincial tally to 267. Punjab has 96, KP 23, Islamabad 10, and GB has 30 confirmed cases.
According to the Sindh Health Department, the new cases were reported in pilgrims from Taftan being quarantined in Sukkur. A day earlier, Pakistan had recorded its third death from the coronavirus; the first in Sindh.
After a brief pause following the first case, COVID-19 cases witnessed a sharp surge as more pilgrims returning from Iran tested positive despite the fact that they were quarantined for 14 days at the Pak-Iran border crossing of Taftan in Balochistan.
Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed has said that 34 trains will stop running until the 15th of Ramazan as the number of people travelling has reduced amid an outbreak of coronavirus in the country.
Speaking at a press conference in Islamabad he said that some 12 trains will stop running from Sunday, which include Khushal, Shah Latif and Ravi while the rest of the 34 trains will stop working from midnight on March 24.
The minister urged people to not travel unless necessary and said that no employees of the Railways department will be fired during this time.
Ninety new coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Sindh, taking the provincial tally to 357.
The new cases have been detected in pilgrims who returned from Iran and have been quarantined in Sukkur, according to a spokesperson for the Sindh health department. Two new cases have been confirmed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, taking the provincial total to 27.
According to the KP health department, one of the cases has a foreign travel history while the other is a case of local transmission.
Balochistan Chief Secretary Fazeel Asghar has confirmed 12 new cases of coronavirus in the province, taking the provincial tally to 104. All the new cases have emerged from the quarantine centre in Quetta.
The Azad Jammu and Kashmir government has announced complete suspension of inter-provincial transport for three days beginning from Friday as a preventive measure to stop the spread of coronavirus. According to a notification issued by the home department, no public transport vehicle is allowed to leave from or enter anywhere in the territory. The notification also stated that violators would be punished under the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1958. The Gilgit-Baltistan government on Saturday took drastic measures and imposed Section 144. The decision was made by Chief Minister Secretariat’s Sajjadul Haq.
“Section 144 is effective from today onwards to discourage gathering of people,” he said, adding that arrangements would be personally supervised by G-B Chief Minister Hafeezur Rehman. The number of coronavirus cases reached 30 in the region but the provincial government fears it could soar in the coming days.In addition, the government has decided to detain passengers who avoid taking the coronavirus test after returning to the country.
