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Monday, 30 March, 2020 I 05 Shaban, 1441 I Rs 20.00 I Vol X No 271 I 12 Pages I Karachi Edition
Corona kills four more, Cases Cross 1,550 g
ABBOTTABAD MAN LINKeD WITH TABLeegHI jAMAAT DIeS, AReA UNDeR LOCKDOWN ISLAMABAD/LAHORE/KARACHI staff report
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S coronavirus cases continued to surface across the country on Sunday, four more patients succumbed to the disease in Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, taking the national death toll to 15. Pakistan’s coronavirus cases currently stand at 1,556 after the confirmation of new cases in Punjab, Islamabad and gilgit-Baltistan (gB). 28 people have so far recovered from the disease. ABBOTABAD MAN DIES: According to health officials, the 78-year-old man, who passed away in Abbottabad, purportedly contracted the virus through some Tableeghi jamaat members who were in the area. The whole area has subsequently been put under lockdown now and contact tracing in underway.
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SINDH RePORTS TWO MORe DeATHS, 789 PILgRIMS ALLOWeD TO gO HOMe AFTeR 14-DAY QUARANTINe
According to the District Health Officer (DHO) Abbottabad Dr Faisal Khanzada, the patient was under treatment at Combined Military Hospital Abbottabad. The five deaths in KP have been reported from Hangu, Mardan, Parachinar, Lower Dir, and Abbottabad, the DHO said. TWO DEAD IN SINDH: Sindh Health and Population Minister Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, while talking about the deceased patients, said, “We received the lab reports of both the patients after they had passed away. We found out that the cause of death in both cases was pneumonia along with COVID-19.” “One of the patients was 83 years old while the other was 70 years old,” she added. Separately, 789 pilgrims, who were suspected to be affected and placed in isolation in Sukkur, completed the mandatory 14-day isolation period and were declared virus-free. These pilgrims, who had come from Iran via Taftan border crossing,
SINDH MINISTeR SAYS TOO eARLY TO ReSUMe FLIgHTS, PROVINCeS SHOULD HAVe BeeN TAKeN ON BOARD IN THIS RegARD
ISLAMABAD staff report
The federal government on Sunday withdrew an earlier notification, announcing the resumption of international flight operations, after the Sindh government expressed reservation over the decision, saying it is “too early” to do so. According to a notification issued yesterday, the National Disaster Management Authority
(NDMA) had announced the resumption of international flight operations at Karachi, Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Quetta and Peshawar airports from April 5. The operations were temporarily suspended on Mar 21 in a bid to contain the potential spread of coronavirus in the country. However, reacting to the decision, Sindh Information Minister Syed Nasir Hussain Shah said the provinces should have been taken on board regarding the
issue as they are struggling to contain the epidemic. “No way, it’s too early to decide on this. Such a decision needs to made by the consent of provincial governments as each province is struggling very hard to contain the spread of #COVID_19. We can’t afford any risk at this point,” Shah had tweeted late Saturday night. Yesterday, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Security Dr Moeed Yusuf gave a briefing on the situation at airports and borders and had said that all international airspace will remain closed till April 4. Beginning March 29, a ban on all outgoing flights will become effective till April 4, the prime minister’s aide on national security Yusuf had said. “The eastern and western borders will also remain closed for two weeks,” he said. Dr Yusuf had said that depending on a ‘case to case basis’, if any country requests a flight to take back its citizens, then it will be discussed.
more inside
PM to announce roadmap for battle against coronavirus STORY ON PAGE 03
US virus deaths could reach 200,000, says top expert STORY ON BACK PAGE
Another health worker dies of coronavirus in Gilgit-Baltistan STORY ON PAGE 02
Pakistan urges India to lift Kashmir restrictions
PUNjAB ANNOUNCeS SIx-MONTH jAIL, RS50,000 FINe IN CASe OF CORONA RULeS VIOLATION
would now be allowed to go home. WOMAN DIES IN PUNJAB: Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar announced on Sunday night that a 68-year-old woman who had returned from Saudi Arabia and was under treatment in Rahim Yar Khan passed away due to coronavirus. He said that so far six people have lost their lives in Punjab whereas 593 confirmed coronavirus patients are under treatment. He added that the government’s teams are constantly tracking and testing the contacts of patients. ‘NO VIRUS CASE IMPORTED FROM CHINA’: Meanwhile, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza said that out of 1,500 total cases in the country, not even a single patient had a travel history of China. “This is remarkable if you think about it,” he said while briefing the team of Chinese doctors at the National Institute of Health (NIH) in Islamabad. “This
Govt reconsiders resumption of int’l flights after Sindh’s objection g
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STORY ON PAGE 02
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could happen only because of the coordination between Pakistan and China’s government and as a result of which it was decided not to let Chinese citizens travel before a 14-day period,” he added. Recalling the government’s earlier decision of not repatriating Pakistani students from Wuhan, Dr Mirza said, “It was a very tough decision but we worked very closely with the Chinese government and followed their recommendations and policies.” “They were very nice since they allowed countries to expatriate even against their recommendation,” he added. “Today, when the disease is spreading in Pakistan, the students are thanking the government of Pakistan for not bringing them back,” he said, adding that they are asking the government to take care of their families like China took care of them.
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