Imposition of lockdown: First phase of financial aid to be launched tomorrow: Umar

The government on Tuesday announced that the first phase of the financial assistance approved for the needy people following the imposition of lockdown is to be launched on Thursday (April 9) with Rs48 billion.
This was stated by Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar, while addressing a joint press conference with Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on National Health Dr Zafar Mirza.
The minister said that the government would soon take the coronavirus testing capacity to 25,000 tests daily. He said that the total coronavirus cases in Pakistan had reached 4,005 with 55 deaths.
Umar said that the federal government had decided to directly provide coronavirus-related safety kits to health professionals dealing with the patients in over 400 hospitals across the country.
He said that last month, the country was struggling to conduct around 1,000 tests daily, which had now reached 6,000 tests per day, and within coming weeks the capacity would be taken to 25,000 tests per day.
Umar said that the government would also start handing out protective gear and medical equipment directly to the hospitals from Thursday. "We are taking every step to ensure the protection of our healthcare personnel," he added.
Umar said that the government had finalised distribution of financial assistance to 12 million people adding that the first phase would start on Thursday (April 9), wherein four million people would be covered. He said that in the first phase Rs48 billion would be distributed among the people through 16,100 points.
Umar said that the federal government would directly transfer the financial assistance to the needy people and this amount would not be transferred to the provinces. He also dispelled the notion of Pakistanis having immunity from the COVID-19, saying that so far more than 50 people had died while more than 20 had been shifted to ventilators.
"I know that our nation is self-confident but please take care of yourselves," he added. Dr Mirza revealed that in Pakistan, 163 tests were being conducted per one million people.
In comparison, 50 tests per one million people are being carried out in India and 964 per million in Iran. While acknowledging that the figure of 163 tests per million is "not really" enough, he said that "all efforts are being put into increasing our testing capacity".
The curve of coronavirus cases can be flattened in Pakistan through mass testing, he added. Dr Mirza further said that 577 cases were detected in Pakistan in the past 24 hours, adding that the jump in numbers was caused because new data had been fed into the system.
He said that globally around 1.35 million people had been infected with the virus of which around 75,000 had died but over 275,000 people had also recovered.
Punjab's cases tally reached 2,004 after another 425 new cases emerged and Sindh reported 51 additional cases, taking the provincial tally to 986.
The federal capital reported one new case, while Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) reported three cases, Balochistan 11 cases, Gilgit-Baltistan one and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 85. With the confirmation of new cases, Islamabad and AJK's respective tallies increased to 83 and 18. About 55 people have died and 429 people have recovered so far across the country.