Coronavirus outbreak: Notification to take Pakistan Army's assistance issued

Dunya News

Coronavirus outbreak: Notification to take Pakistan Army's assistance issued

ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) – A notification on Sunday has been issued to take assistance of Pakistan Army in the wake of preventing further spread of coronavirus across the country.

Federal Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid has said that Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), Balochistan, Gilgit Baltistan and Azad Kashmir will be able to take the services of army soldiers whereas Sindh is not in the list yet.

On Friday, Prime Minister Imran Khan, while briefing the nation about the prevailing situation in the country regarding COVID-19, said Pakistan Army will help police and Rangers to ensure implementation on the coronavirus SOPs.

In a televised address after a meeting of the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) in Islamabad, he regretted that the people are currently not observing caution. He warned if the people did not comply with the health guidelines, we will have to impose complete lockdowns in cities.

On the other hand, Pakistan has reported 118 deaths in the last 24 hours by novel coronavirus as the number of positive cases has surged to 795,627. The nationwide tally of fatalities has jumped to 17,117.

According to the latest figures by the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) 5,611 persons tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours.

Punjab remains the worst-hit province in terms of deaths and cases followed by Sindh and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Till now 7,964 individuals have lost their lives to the epidemic in Punjab 4,593 in Sindh, 3,103 in KP, 660 in Islamabad, 461 in Azad Kashmir, 232 in Balochistan, and 104 in GB.

Furthermore 288,598 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Punjab, 277,593 in Sindh, 113,121 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 72,981 in Islamabad, 21,618 in Balochistan, 16,463 in Azad Kashmir and 5,253 in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Pakistan has so far conducted 11,538,771 coronavirus tests and 55,128 in the last 24 hours. 689,812 coronavirus patients have recovered in the country whereas 4,826 patients are in critical condition.