STAFF REPORTER
ISLAMABAD National Disaster Management Authority Chairman LtGen Mohammad Afzal, in a briefing to a session of the parliamentary committee on Monday, said that there are more than 3,800 ventilators present in the country as of now. The Parliamentary Committee on Coronavirus Monitoring held its first meeting on Monday. Na tional Assembly Speaker Asad Qaisar presided over the 25-member bipartisan committee of the lawmakers comprising members from both the Houses of the Parliament. In his briefing, the NDMA chairman said that the public sector has 2,200 ventilators while the rest are with the private sector. He said that on April 9, around 500 more ventilators will reach Pakistan. The NDMA chairman said that keeping in view the need of the country during the pandemic, 2,000 additional ventilators would be sought from China. As for the medical staff fighting the virus on the frontline, the authority’s chairman said that 29,000 medical kits have been provided to the provinces. He said, “137 hospitals have been allocated for fighting the virus,” adding that medical kits will be sent to the incharges of all the hospitals.
