Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday said that the intensity of the coronavirus pandemic in the country was not as severe as it was in other parts of the world.
He stated this while presiding over a meeting on impact of the pandemic on the country’s social fabric and economy on Monday, reports Dawn news.
According to an official statement, the meeting was informed that the number of patients and deaths due to coronavirus is less than that in other countries of the world.
A source privy to the meeting told Dawn news that Khan was quite satisfied that the intensity of COVID-19 was still low in Pakistan as compared to other countries, especially the US and Europe.
However, PM Khan urged people to maintain social distancing as it was the best way to control the spread of the deadly virus in the country.
On Friday, Imran Khan government has extended the countrywide lockdown to stem the spread of the coronavirus pandemic for 15 more days until May 9 amid doctors warnings against easing restrictions.
As of Tuesday, Pakistan has recorded 13,947 coronavirus cases, with 293 deaths.
Earlier, Railways Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmad said that the railways would set up a special quarantine train comprising of 30 coaches in Balochistan.
According to authorities, Pakistan would also allow some foreign airlines to bring back about 40,000 Pakistani nationals stranded abroad.
Experts fear Covid-19 cases may rise further since the relaxations have been announced. They say these relaxations will bring hundreds of thousands of people to the streets, making them more vulnerable to local transmission of the deadly virus.
Meanwhile, globally, 3,062,054 people have been infected by corona and 211,433 people have died from the disease so far.