Staff Reporter
Islamabad
With an increase of 1780 confirmed Coroavirus cases in a single day the tally toched 28,733 mark on Saturday while 25 more deaths were reported from novel coronavirus in the country. In Sindh province around 1,080 new infections emerged within the last 24 hours.
Untill now 10,471 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Punjab, 10,771 in Sindh, 4,509 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 1,873 in Balochistan, 609 in Islamabad, 421 in Gilgit-Baltistan and 79 in Azad Kashmir.
Punjab has so far reported 191 casualties, Sindh 175, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 221, Balochistan 24, Islamabad 4 and Gilgit-Baltistan 3.
Balochistan government spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani has said that 30 per cent of coronavirus tests conducted in the province yesterday came back positive.
Punjab Information Minister Fayyaz Chohan said that Punjab will witness a complete lockdown on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays while restrictions will be relaxed in the four other working days of the week when all shops and markets will remain open with proper implementation of all SOPs.
“Big plazas and shopping centers will remain closed for seven days,” he said, speaking to media.
Responding to the hue and cry of the traders’ community, Chohan said that the notification regarding new decisions in the province will be issued shortly.
“In acknowledgment of the services of media workers, the government has decided to allocate Rs100,000 for any media worker who contracts coronavirus in line of duty,” the provincial minister said, adding that in case the worker succumbs to the virus, Rs 1m will be given to the affectees’ families along with a monthly pension of Rs 10,000.
The Punjab gov also extended provincial lockdown until May 31 with additional exemptions, as per the decisions taken during the National Coordination Committee meeting on May 7.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister of Sindh Murad Ali Shah said that ever since the first coronavirus cases were reported in the province, around 1,080 new infections have emerged within the last 24 hours. The chief minister, in a video statement, said that the situation is quite alarming and people need to remain vigilant in this regard. Murad said 5,498 tests were conducted out of which the results of 20% or more patients than 1,000 came back positive.
Murad Ali Shah said he fears a spike in the number of coronavirus cases once the lockdown eases.
