PM Imran Khan says all sectors except a few ones will be reopened

ISLAMABAD (92 News) – Prime Minister Imran Khan has said that all sectors, except a few ones, will be reopened. Talking to the media after a meeting of the National Coordination Committee (NCC) held to decide on easing or tightening the lockdown on Monday, he announced the provinces will decide on opening the tourism sector under the new standard operating procedures (SOPs). He said that mostly the poor and daily wagers were affected by the lockdown. “The lockdown which he wanted was not clamped as the powers are with the provinces under the 18th amendment. I did not want to stop the business,” he said. The prime minister said that the government is holding meetings of the National Command and Operation Centre daily. “Our team is in contact with doctors and relevant departments in Pakistan as well as in the world,” he said. He urged the nation to strictly follow the SOPs for gradually opening of more sectors of the economy from lockdown. “Tourism is one of the areas where restrictions will be relaxed. In many areas, tourism thrives only for a few months of the year. Governments of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Gilgit-Baltistan should prepare SOPs for opening this sector,” he said. Imran Khan said that coronavirus is here to stay unless a vaccine is developed to eradicate it. “The virus will further spread in the coming days. We can live it in a better way if people follow the SOPs and precautionary measures all the time,” he maintained. He assured doctors and paramedics that government will assist them in every possible way while dealing with coronavirus. “Pakistan is facing a different situation than the US, Europe and China. Around 50 million Pakistanis are living under the poverty line and are not able to afford three times meal a day. 25 million people are daily wagers. If we include families of these persons, then the figure reaches to 120 million people who cannot live without work,” he added. The prime minister said that lockdown and social distancing can slow down the spread of disease. “We also have to see the condition of our hospitals which cannot not face the burden of patients,” he added. Meanwhile, the National Coordination Committee (NCC) decided to uphold the present lockdown. Under the new SOPs, schools, colleges, universities and marriage halls will remain closed. Shops and markets will remain open for five days. Markets will remain closed on Saturdays and Sundays. The NCC also decided to bring back all Pakistanis stranded in different countries.