Govt to announce decision on lockdown after NCC meeting tomorrow, says Asad Umar – Pakistan

Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Minister Asad Umar said on Monday that the government will announce its future course of action, including its decision on the extension of the blockade, after tomorrow's meeting of the National Coordination Committee (NCC).

He said that the next NCC session will take place on Tuesday.

Read: Ineffective blocking due to mixed signals from the Center, alleges Murad Ali Shah

"Decisions about our future course of action will be made after the next NCC session," said Umar, adding that the government's strategy from day one has been to incorporate all provinces and stakeholders before making decisions.

During a press conference with the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister of Health, Dr. Zafar Mirza, Umar said that the federal government needed to move from a total block strategy to a test, trace and quarantine (TTQ) strategy to return to the normal.

"If we close everything to stop the coronavirus, we will never be able to stand up again. This is exactly why we need a test, trace and quarantine strategy," Umar reasoned, adding that countries that employed a similar strategy were now poised. to reopen their economies.

In developing what he meant by testing, tracing, and quarantine, the minister explained that the government would first try to conduct mass testing, then constitute a comprehensive contact tracking system, in which infected patients and everyone who came into contact with they were quarantined. . By following this strategy, Umar argued, the government will be able to reopen essential sectors of the economy, which in turn will make the transition to normal more smooth.

Umar also praised the nation for "behaving responsibly," saying that the situation in Pakistan, in terms of the number of confirmed cases, is better than most developed countries.

He also urged the country's business community to be responsible and take precautions to protect their workers from Covid-19. He added that the government can introduce legislation that requires companies to protect their employees from illness.

Test capacity will be increased: SAPM Mirza

Meanwhile, the Special Assistant to the Prime Minister of Health, Dr. Zafar Mirza, agreed with Asad Umar that testing, tracing and quarantine were an extremely effective way not only of defeating Covid-19 but also of returning to normal.

"Look, so far we have only been testing symptomatic people. Now we are expanding that circle so that we can begin to locate contacts effectively," Zafar said.

Zafar also announced that the government currently has the capacity to carry out 600,000 tests, an amount expected to cross 1 million in mid-April. He added that these test kits would allow the government to meet its daily testing target of performing 20,000 to 25,000 tests by the end of April.

"As we speak, we have 27 laboratories for testing and we will soon build 7 more laboratories," Zafar said.

SAPM Mirza also announced that in the coming weeks, Pakistan will be able to produce N-95 masks locally and will not have to import them.

He concluded by saying that the country was working on the production of personal protective equipment required by doctors exposed to coronavirus in the country.