STAFF REPORTER
ISLAMA BA D Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar on Saturday said the government will take a decision on whether to extend the lockdown or ease restrictions on Monday. Speaking at a press conference, he said that they would present their recommendations to the prime minister and the National Coordination Committee and they would take a “national decision” on the lockdown. Asad Umar said Pakistan now had the capacity to conduct at least 100,000 Covid-19 tests in 26 laboratories situated across the country, adding that the government may begin testing asymptomatic individuals moving forward. “We’ve only been testing visibly symptomatic patients thus far. It is possible that we will start testing asymptomatic people going forward provided they came in contact with those who have already tested positive,” Umar said during a press conference alongside Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza. He further revealed that the government had procured and distributed 14 new Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) test machines among the provinces. “Yesterday we received material for 100,000 test kits, 50,000 of these will be given to Sindh while 25,000 to Balochistan.” Citing South Korea’s mass testing and contact tracing as an example of a successful strategy against the coronavirus, Asad said that Pakistan also needed to conduct mass testing and contact tracing of those tested positive to curb the spread of Covid-19. He said a future course of action on the country’s fight against Covid-19, including the curbs on movement and businesses, will be determined after the National Coordination Committee session on Monday. He added that the cabinet will be meeting Prime Minister Imran Khan before that on Sunday to seek his counsel regarding the country’s measures against the virus. “We will present our recommendations to the prime minister on measures such as quarantining, contact tracing and mass testing today and seek his point of view on these matters,” Umar said. “Additionally, NCC will conduct its session on Monday and we expect chief ministers of all four provinces and Azad Jammu and Kashmir to be present there. My hope is that we can constitute a unified national plan going forward,” Umar added, reminding the nation that a full team at the National Command and Operation Centre w as working in close coordination w ith the provinces at all times. Umar concluded by noting that the government’s revenue had fallen by about one-third from the economic fallout of Covid-19.ere are signs the pandemic might be nearing a peak. Italy has the second most reported deaths at 19,468 and Spain is in third place w ith 16,353. The United States has five times the population of Italy and nearly seven times the population of Spain. The number of coronavirus cases recorded in the United States surged past 500,000 late Friday, according to the latest tally by Johns Hopkins University. The US has led the world in the number of infections since the end of March. With more than a third of all officially declared cases globally, it threatens
