Prime Minister Imran Khan has announced that the government will gradually ease a nationwide lockdown from Saturday 9th of May 2020, saying the number of COVID-19 infections remain relatively low and under control.
Since the Pandemic, Pakistan have recorded more than 26,000 confirmed cases and nearly 600 deaths and 1,791+ cases have been tested positive today only, which is by far the largest number in a day for Pakistan. Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday 7th May 2020 chaired a meeting with the top government officials where the decision was taken to ease down restrictions on public and industrial activities.
In the first phase, all small markets in residential localities and shops will reopen, and the businesses can only operate from Sehri till 5pm. However the markets will remain closed for two days a week. Shopping malls and other places where large crowds gather have not been permitted to reopen yet.
The lockdown is being eased because people in our country, the daily wagers, shopkeepers, rickshaw/taxi drivers, laborers, middle class families are all facing an extremely difficult situation to feed their families. Throughout his speech, Imran khan repeatedly advised people and industries to follow the standard operating procedures (SOPs) announced by the government for Covid-19.
In the meeting Imran khan also added that if there’s a sudden spike in the cases of CoronaVirus, the government would impose another lockdown in the country which will have a great effect on the poor.