ISLAMABAD: Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar has said that the government hoped to contain the outbreak of the novel coronavirus through its targeted lockdown strategy.
Addressing a press conference today (Thursday) after the meeting of NCOC, Asad Umar said, “It is our hope that this strategy will avert the spread and will allow us to flatten the curve.”
He said that implementation of the targeted lockdown strategy has started in Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Islamabad, Gilgit-Baltistan, and Azad Kashmir, while its implementation in Balochistan will begin in one or two days.
The Planning Minister also assured that the federal and the provincial governments were jointly working to cope with the deadly disease.
He further said, “The government will provide 2,500 oxygenated beds to the provinces by the end of July. Prime Minister Imran Khan has told us that supplying beds to the provinces should be a priority.”
Commenting on the Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP), Asad Umar said that DRAP has expedited its registration process in order to keep up to date with new drugs being introduced as potential treatments for COVID-19. He added that the NCOC had also decided that these drugs should be purchased in bulk and supplied to public hospitals.
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