Faraz said there was no confusion among the government ranks or in the mind of Prime Minister Imran Khan about the need for continuing economic activities in the country.
Representative image(Photo: IANS)
The Pakistan government on Thursday said that it has no immediate plan to go for a stricter lockdown, despite thousands of new COVID-19 cases, as well as deaths, it according to media report on Friday.
Speaking to Dawn news, Information Minister Shibli Faraz said that although there were reports from some big metropolitan cities about pressure on certain hospitals due to an increase in the number of COVID-19 patients, the overall situation and conditions in hospitals overall were “satisfactory”.
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Faraz said the number of COVID-19 patients was still less than what they had previously estimated.
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Responding to a question, he expressed his concern over reports of violations of SOPs (standard operating procedures) by the public, but said there was no decision to impose a “strict lockdown” in the country.
Faraz said there was no confusion among the government ranks or in the mind of Prime Minister Imran Khan about the need for continuing economic activities in the country.
Earlier this week, Health Minister Zafar Mirza said, “Strict lockdowns” could be reimposed across Pakistan after the Eid holiday if citizens did not follow the government mandated standard operating procedures (SOPs) against the COVID-19 spread.
On May 16, Domestic flight operations resumed in Pakistan after a nearly two-month-long suspension.
Earlier this month, PM Khan said that the government had decided to gradually ease the lockdown in the coming days, keeping in view the ground realities, especially the economic situation of the country amid the coronavirus pandemic.
In April, the government 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.
The remarks come as the number of COVID-19 cases in Pakistan has increased to 62,789, while the death toll stood at 1,286.
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