Epaper – May 10 ISB 2020

Page 1

CMYK

10 May, 2020 I 16 Ramzan-ul-Mubarak, 1441 I Rs 15.00 I Vol X No 312 I 12 Pages I Islamabad Edition

Markets crowded as provinces ease lockdown aMid surge in virus cases g

g

ISLAMABAD/LAHoRe

p

STAFF REPORT/AgEnciES

EoPlE across Pakistan crowded markets on Saturday after a nationwide coronavirus lockdown was eased, despite the country recording its second-highest daily infection toll. with 28,795 infections in total, Punjab and Sindh have the highest number of infections, reporting 10,471 and 10,771 cases, respectively. balochistan and khyber Pakhtunkhwa have reported 1,935 and 4,509 cases each. in islamabad and gilgit-baltistan, the infection swelled to 609 and 421, respectively. However, Azad kashmir has the lowest number of cases, with 79 infections so far. At least 636 people have succumbed to the deadly virus in the country till date. in a bid to contain the coronavirus cases after relaxation in the lockdown, the Punjab and khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments have decided to impose a blanket lockdown in the provinces for three days in a week–friday to Sunday. the decision was announced a day after the provinces and federal territories eased lockdown restrictions, in place to contain the rising number of Covid-19 in-

fections, following a meeting of the national Coordination Committee (nCC) on the issue. Addressing a press conference in lahore, Punjab information Minister fayyazul Hassan Chohan said the restrictions will be eased for four days in a week (Monday to thursday) in which all shops and markets will be allowed to remain open. but, the province will see a complete lockdown on friday, Saturday and Sunday, he added. the Punjab government also extended the partial lockdown till May 31, for which a notification has also been issued. All small shops in Punjab will remain open for four days a week. According to the notification, all major shopping malls and educational institutions in Punjab will remain closed. However, barbershops, beauty parlors and gymnasiums are allowed to open for four days a week. All grocery stores, tandoors and general stores will remain open from 9am to 5pm. According to the notification, the fruit and vegetable markets and courier services will remain open for the entire week. Marriage halls, marquees, public transport, concerts and sports activities will be restricted till May 31. it may be noted here that the Punjab government had also requested the Cen-

coronavirus in

pakistan

KARACHI

RECOVERED:

DEATHS:

SINDH:

PUNJAB:

7,809 10,771

636

10,471

KP:

BALOCHISTAN:

AJK/GB:

ISLAMABAD:

4,509 79/421

1,935 609

tre for permission to keep the lockdown intact in 8-10 major cities of the province in order to curb the coronavirus cases. ‘BETTER THAN LEAKY LOCKDOWN’: khyber Pakhtunkhawa (kP) Minister for Health and finance taimur khan jhagra announced that the province will have a four-day working week as the government seeks to ease the lockdown restrictions which were imposed to curb the spread of Covid-19. Addressing a press conference about the easing of the lockdown in the province, jhagra said: “the two things we are going to try out are that the closing time for shops and markets will be 4:00 pm and they will remain shut on friday, Saturday and Sunday.” jhagra noted that these measures might be better than a seven-day “leaky lockdown”, saying that the government is trying its best to ease the lockdown while containing the risk of virus spread.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 02

PM says situation in Pakistan under control as Covid-19 cases soar STORY ON PAGE 03

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HAfEEz SHAikH SAyS govt iS SEt to CollECt RS3.9tR in tAxES, 19PC bElow tHE downwARdly REviSEd tARgEt of RS4.8tR ISLAMABAD AgEnciES

Pakistan’s fiscal deficit will surge to nine per cent in the ongoing fiscal year, Adviser to the Prime Minister on finance dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh has said, as the economy reels from the fallout of the coronavirus crisis. with the national tally of confirmed cases of Covid-19 rising to 28,551 and 623 deaths being reported, the government has announced it will start lifting the countrywide lockdown from Saturday in a bid to restart economic activity. fear of an economic meltdown is said to be the main reason behind ending the shutdown at a time when the country’s curve, or rate of infections, is edging up sharply. “the expectation of the deficit we had prior to the coronavirus was 7.6pc. now, after corona, we think the deficit will touch 8pc plus and that it might be 9pc,” said Sheikh. in an interview with Reuters at his office, Sheikh said the country will also miss a tax revenue target that had recently been downwardly revised and agreed to with the inter-

PMA, otHER outfitS dEMAnd ExtEnSion in loCkdown until SPREAd of CoRonAviRuS SlowS down STAFF REPORT

28,795

AllowS gRoCERy StoRES, gyMS, bARbERSHoPS to funCtion fRoM MondAy to fRidAy

Healthcare system will collapse due to ease in lockdown, doctors warn g

CONFIRMED CASES:

PunjAb govt ExtEndS PARtiAl loCkdown till MAy 31, SAyS no buSinESS will oPEn on fRidAy, SAtuRdAy And SundAy

‘Pakistan’s fiscal deficit to surge, tax revenue to miss target this year’

the Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) and other healthcare professionals’ organisations have opposed relaxing the lockdown, saying the healthcare system will collapse if the coronavirus infection in the country increased beyond a certain threshold. demanding that the lockdown be extended for a few more weeks, until the spread of the virus slowed down, the doctors pointed out that even after the restrictions were relaxed, it was incumbent upon the government to ensure that all citizens followed the necessary standard operating procedures (SoPs). “the PMA and other health bodies have been calling for a strict lockdown from day one, as well as to educate people on the pandemic and raise awareness about precautionary measures to curb the spread of the virus,” said PMA general Secretary dr Qaisar Sajjad. Criticising the government for putting the responsibility on the public, dr Sajjad said would

be difficult for people to follow the SoPs. “the government will have to discipline the population,” said dr Sajjad. “At the moment, there are just 63 beds dedicated for coronavirus patients in karachi’s five public hospitals and though the 1,200-bed isolation facility at the Expo Centre is a large one, it only delivers primary treatment,” noted dr Sajjad, adding that situation would not be too different in other cities, if not worse. “we fear that relaxing the lockdown, in the light of the low literacy rate and obstinate behaviour of citizens, will open a floodgate of Covid-19 patients in the country,” he remarked, stressing, “we must prepare ourselves for the worst.” dr Sohail Akhtar, a chest specialist who also spoke on the occasion, complained that the government had not been following Covid-19 burial SoPs as advised by doctors, “which creates panic among the public.” besides, the doctors demanded that the government set up a helpline for ambulance services so that they could be

guided where to shift the patient, introduce a relief package for the bereaved families of doctors who died battling Covid-19 on the frontlines and make the screening of health workers mandatory so that they could be protected against the virus. “we need to be extremely careful and vigilant. we must prepare ourselves for the worst situation to come. we have been demanding compensation to all Covid-19 victims, including doctors, paramedics and healthcare providers. we have been demanding PPEs for our frontline soldiers. we demand Shuhda package/support money for the families of those medics who have lost their lives while fighting the virus and saving the lives of patients.”

Outbreaks in Germany and South Korea show the risks in easing up STORY ON BACK PAGE

national Monetary fund (iMf), which gave the country a three-year, $6 billion bailout last year. the government is set to collect Rs3.9 trillion ($24.54bn) in taxes, 19pc below the downwardly revised target of Rs4.8tr ($30.20bn), he said. the iMf also gave Pakistan a $1.386bn rapid financing package last month to tackle balance-ofpayment problems amid economic fallout from the virus. the country’s economy is now projected to contract 1pc to 1.5pc in the ongoing fiscal year, Sheikh added, officially corroborating earlier iMf estimates of the extent of the effect of the pandemic on the economy.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 02

Govt urged to reduce income tax by 50pc in upcoming budget STORY ON PAGE 09

fiqah-e-hanfia lahore sehr: 3:37 aM iftar: 6:50 PM

islaMabad sehr: 3:35 aM iftar: 6:59 PM

karachi sehr: 4:26 aM iftar: 7:07 PM

fiqah-e-jafaria lahore sehr: 3:27 aM iftar: 7:00 PM

islaMabad sehr: 3:25 aM iftar: 7:09 PM

karachi sehr: 4:16 aM iftar: 7:17 PM

more inside

ECC, cabinet decisions led to hike in sugar prices: Abbasi STORY ON PAGE 02

US body on religious freedom lauds Pakistan for establishing minorities commission STORY ON PAGE 05

Refineries seek bailout package as coronavirus disrupts demand STORY ON PAGE 09


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