LAHORE: Chief Minister Punjab Usman Buzdar has warned hoarders of strict action on Friday.
CM Usman Buzdar in his statement said he will not tolerate any shortage of edible items including flour in the province. “We have surplus stock of wheat”, he added.
He made it clear that those found in hoarding will be dealt with iron hands and no one would be spared in present situation the country including province is passing through amid threat posed by coronavirus outbreak.
Buzdar directed to ensure supply of wheat flour on the rates set by the government.
Last week, CM Usman Buzdar had announced to recruit 10,000 medical staffers including doctors, nurses and paramedics aimed at tackling the coronavirus outbreak. He had said that they have imposed section 144 in the province and a cabinet committee is overseeing the efforts to deal with the virus on daily basis.
“We have also formed a committee on school holidays and lowering fees of private schools and will ensure that the guidelines issued from the province are followed,” he said.
On the other hand, after Sindh and Balochistan, the Punjab government on Friday banned congregational prayers in a bid to curb the swiftly increasing cases of coronavirus in the country.
The provincial government issued the notification after consulting religious scholars and health experts.
According to a notification, only three to five mosque staff members (such as the imam and khateeb) are allowed to pray in the mosque. The move has been taken to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus in Pakistan.
Meanwhile, two doctors who were treating COVID-19 patients in Dera Ghazi Khan quarantine center have tested positive for coronavirus.
According to Punjab Secretary for Primary Healthcare Muhammad Usman, both doctors were treating patients in the DG Khan Isolation ward.
Dr. Usama and Dr. Saba, detected with Covid-19 have been kept in an isolation ward and are undergoing treatment, said health secretary. He said that the condition of both doctors is out of danger.
The number of deaths from the coronavirus rose to nine while 1,235 have been affected, according to the latest report released by the National Command and Control Center on coronavirus on Friday.
The national dashboard, maintained by the federal ministry of health, reported that Sindh province has been affected more due to the virus, where the number of cases stands at 429, Punjab 408, Balochistan 131, KP 147, Gilgit-Baltistan, 91, Islamabad 27 and two cases were reported in Azad Kashmir.
During the last 24 hours, another death was reported due to the virus, taking the tally to 9 countrywide. 21 patients have recovered their health, the report reads.
More than three billion people around the world were living under lockdown on Friday as governments stepped up their efforts against the coronavirus pandemic which has left more than 24,000 people dead.
In Spain, the number of fatalities surpassed those of China, where the novel coronavirus first emerged three months ago, making it the hardest-hit nation after Italy. – NNI