PM again rules out possibility of country-wide lockdown

Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday once again ruled out the possibility of a lockdown as he sought to calm the nation amid challenges posed by coronavirus (COVID-19) situation in the country. In his second brief address to the nation, he called upon the nation to exercise self-isolation as much as possible to contain the spread of virus, saying through 'self-discipline and by indulging in panic buying, we will certainly overcome the threats of the pandemic'.
"We're not going for a complete lockdown as the situation here is totally different than the rest of the world...it would create economic woes as 25 percent chunk of its population is living below the poverty line, and we can not food to them," he maintained.
He said that the issue of panic is more disastrous than coronavirus, as panic buying or anything like that would result in irreparable damage to society. The situation all over the world is same as the pandemic has engulfed the whole world, he added, in such a situation, any lockdown would be tantamount to imposition of curfew across the country through law enforcement agencies, which would affect the poor.
"What would become of the labourers, daily wagers, rickshaw and taxi drivers if we go for a lockdown? The government has no resources to look after the families of these people so there will be no lockdown," he declared. The prime minister said that China did lockdown because it is the second richest country of the world and has adequate system and huge resources, adding a country like ours, can not afford such an action.
He called upon the nation to adopt precautionary measures as this is the only solution to further spread of the virus, adding people should go for self quarantine and if anyone has symptoms like flu and cough, stay indoors instead visiting hospices.
PM Khan observed that about 90 percent affected persons from the disease had mild symptoms and they recovered quickly, adding the virus posed serious threats to the old and senile population or those who had respiratory complications.
"The pandemic could spread quickly if the nation did not take precautionary measures," he maintained. The prime minister reiterated that social distancing should be given top most priority besides suspending weddings and other social gatherings as it would be an injustice to the old population of the country who were the most vulnerable segment of society.
"My advice is to impose discipline upon yourself...take care of yourself and avoid going outside and if you're not doing all this, you're doing a disservice to the society," he maintained. The prime minister said the government had already issued directives for the closure of shopping malls and rescheduling of cricket events.
"I am optimistic that my nation will not disappoint me," he said and cited 2005 earthquake and 2010 floods which inflicted huge damages upon the country. He also mentioned the support extended by the overseas Pakistanis in those hard times.
The prime minister said today, his government required nation's fully support and cooperation in tackling the covid-19 threat as any slackness or irresponsibility on their part could lead to a problematic situation. If the nation imposed self-discipline like the one exhibited by the Chinese nation, it would emerge successful of the current situation, he said, adding the country had no shortage of edible things and advised the people not to pile up things unnecessarily.
He assured that the nation that he along with his team were working day and night as how to tackle the situation and steer the business, economic and industrial sectors of the country out of the current economic slowdown. He also announced that he would announce a plan within a couple of days. "The nation should have full confidence in my government and my economic team that is fully alive to the current situation and devising mechanism to provide relief to the public by mitigating their problems," he added.