CORONA VIRUS PAKISTAN
The federal government has started considering an extension in lockdown as coronavirus count in Pakistan jumped to 5,496 and seven deaths in a day which took the tally to 93 on Monday, ARY News reported

 Punjab has the highest number of infections up to 2,672 as the provincial authorities commenced aggressive testing after imposing partial and complete lockdown in different virus hotspots.

The COVID-19 cases reached 1,452 in Sindh, 744 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 230 in Balochistan, 224 in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), 131 in Islamabad and 43 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

Overall 122 new cases and seven deaths were reported within 24 hours, whereas, 3,233 tests were conducted today as the total number of coronavirus screening tests reached 65,114.

44 patients have been declared critical in different parts of the country.

SAPM on Health Dr Zafar Mirza said that the rate of locally transmitted cases of coronavirus has risen to 52 per cent in Pakistan which needed to be controlled immediately after increasing the COVID-19 testing capacity.

Dr Zafar Mirza, while addressing a joint press conference with planning minister Asad Umar, said the health authorities were making maximum efforts to controlling the local transmission of coronavirus disease. He emphasised the need for increasing the capacity of COVID-19 tests.

Earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan chaired a meeting of the National Coordination Committee (NCC) on COVID-19 and reviewed measures taken to arrest the spread of the contagion in the country.

During the meeting, all chief ministers put forward their proposals on the extension of the lockdown. The Centre and the federating units agreed on adopting a uniform policy with regard to the lockdown.

The meeting took stock of the current coronavirus situation and its impact on the country’s economy.

The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) presented its recommendations on the future course of action to overcome the crisis.

The meeting decided to defer some key decisions, including the extension of the countrywide lockdown, until Tuesday (tomorrow).

At a post-meeting briefing, Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar said decisions on the government’s future course of action, including decision of the extension of the lockdown, will be taken after next NCC session slated for tomorrow.

He said the federal government should move from a strategy of a complete lockdown to testing, tracing and quarantining (TTQ) to return to normalcy.

He said if the government shuts everything to contain the virus, the country won’t be able get back on its feet.

“This is why we need a strategy of testing, tracing and quarantining,” explained the minister.