Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar had last month expressed the view that the capacity of 30,000 tests per day would be sufficient for Pakistan to control the spread of the deadly virus.“Currently, we are in a position to hold over 25,000 tests per day and with every passing day our capacity to conduct tests is increasing,” Mr Umar had stated, expressing...
While any good news regarding the coronavirus pandemic is always very welcome, it is extremely important to read the numbers correctly to get the right idea about the kind of situation that still confronts us. The number of new cases as well as deaths is one the decline for the first time in a while in Punjab, for example, but then there are also reports that people with...
The evidence coming out from the smart lockdown in specific sectors of Islamabad is proof that this strategy, if implemented properly, can be quite effective in curbing the spread of coronavirus cases in high incidence areas. The need to enforce such measures will continue to arise because despite repeated pleas, many people continue to violate SOPs created by the government....
Hopefully now, as the prime minister has promised to monitor implementation of SOPs (standard operating procedures), some of the most senior government officials will also take the matter seriously. It would help if the prime minister personally set an example as well, and started wearing a mask, not the least so others can learn from him and follow his example. It is...
Beijing and New Delhi need to deescalate immediately if they want to keep this particular confrontation from creating problems for the whole region. The first skirmish, which was increasingly expected as India tried to talk tough without possessing the ability to back it up, finally broke out the other day with the Chinese killing three-odd Indian soldiers that crossed...
One of the very many promises PTI (Pakistan Tehreek e Insaf) made on the campaign trail, and indeed during much its two decades in opposition before that, was making the annual federal budget not just an efficient but also a realistic exercise. It really defeats the purpose when all ministries spend at least half the fiscal year preparing for the budget yet what is presented...
Coronavirus cases in Pakistan have crossed 100,000 as Sindh reported 1,744 new infections. Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said that 8,119 tests were conducted during the last 24 hours, out of which 1,744 came back positive, taking the provincial tally to 38,108. The province has also reported 16 more deaths from the virus, taking its total fatalities to 650. Shah said...
The tally of healthcare professionals infected by novel coronavirus in Pakistan has crossed above 3000, according to a report sent to the Ministry of National Health. A report prepared by the National Institute of Health (NIH), dispatched to the ministry, said that 3088 healthcare workers have been infected by COVID-19 so far. According to details, the number of doctors...
Images of large crowds of people, sometimes marching peacefully, sometimes ransacking shops, are the last thing one would expect to see coming out of America. Yet the situation since a police officer killed a black citizen by applying unnecessary force has simply spiraled out of control and refuses to die down, even with the National Guard called into more than forty...