The minister for information Syed Nasir Hussain Shah while taliking to media said,”The health and lives of the people were the first and foremost priority of the Sindh government, therefore, it was not ending the ongoing lockdown”.
‘“Coronavirus is the reality and everyone of us should refrain from any activity that could spread it,” he stated, adding that with no vaccine yet available, staying at home and following precautionary measures was the only way to stay safe.
However, number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Sindh has reached 5,659 while a total of 51,790 tests have been conducted so far, including 3,729 done over the past 24 hours in Sindh. Moreover, 4,426 patients of coronavirus have been under treatment including 3,187 have been isolated at homes. At isolation centers 762 patients have been admitted and 477 under treatment at hospitals in Sindh.
PM Khan criticizes elite-centric lock down:
Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday criticised Sindh government decision of lock down and referred it an elite-centric response to the coronavirus in the country without any without thinking of the poor, but warned the pandemic did not discriminate between rich and the poor.
Addressing a ceremony during his visit to the COMSTECH headquarters in Islamabad, the prime minister said the government-run hospitals would not improve unless the “elite class, including ministers” went there for treatment”.
Stressing that self-belief was the key to development, progress, and self-reliance, Imran expressed his resolve to chalk out a comprehensive plan to improve the living standard of the common man and to bring people out of poverty.
PM Khan is concerned for poor masses
The prime minister stated that the elite was so inspired by the West that it did not think that Pakistan could develop itself. He added that the elite took the decision to impose the lockdown, but it did not think of the daily-wage earner.
However, he warned that the virus did not discriminate. “Coronavirus has shown us that it affected everyone,” he said. “It has shown us that if we do not focus on the poor areas it will also spread to posh areas as well.”
Read more: COVID-19: Question of survivability of 1.4 billion Indians with no exit strategy
The pandemic, the prime minister pointed out, had also shown to the elite that they could not go abroad for treatment, because the situation was even worse there. “We have to improve our hospitals. Hospitals will not improve unless elite, including ministers, go there for treatment.”
He said there was “a dependency syndrome” and “lack of self-belief” in the society and questioned that how could a country that made nuclear weapons did not know how to make ventilators, sanitizers and disinfectants. While speaking, he criticized Sindh government for people;s miseries amid coronavirus in the province.
Stressing that “not everything can be imported”, Prime Minister Imran said that Covid-19 pandemic crisis had provided an opportunity for Pakistan to locally-manufacture ventilators and personal protective equipment (PPEs).
Stressing that self-belief was the key to development, progress, and self-reliance, Imran expressed his resolve to chalk out a comprehensive plan to improve the living standard of the common man and to bring people out of poverty