Pakistan, Turkey agree for joint efforts to tackle coronavirus

ISLAMABAD (92 News) – Pakistan and Turkey have agreed for joint efforts to tackle the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. This agreement was held during a telephonic conversation between Prime Minister (PM) Imran Khan and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. During the telephonic contact, both the leaders agreed to work together and reinforce each other's efforts in the fight against coronavirus. The prime minister offered condolences to the people and the government of Turkey over the loss of precious human lives as a result of COVID-19. He reaffirmed Pakistan’s abiding support and solidarity with Turkey, including Ankara's efforts to combat the pandemic. PM Imran Khan also conveyed thanks for facilitation of stranded Pakistanis by Turkish authorities in the aftermath of discontinuation of flight operations. On the other hand, the number of coronavirus patients increased to 4,005 after 577 new cases were reported during the last 24 hours. According to the data available with the National Command and Operation Centre, four more deaths were reported, soaring the toll to 54. Punjab continued to lead the patients tally with 2,004 cases, while patients have increased to 932 in Sindh, 500 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 202 in Balochistan and 83 in Islamabad. There are 211 reported cases in Gilgit-Baltistan and 18 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir. As many as 429 patients have recovered after treatment in hospitals across the country. The condition of 28 patients is being stated to be critical. So far tests have been conducted on 39,183 patients after 3,088 tests were carried out on suspected patients during the last 24 hours. As per details, 59 percent of the cases came from different countries, while 41 percent cases are transmitted locally. As many as 7,295 beds have been allocated for coronavirus patients in 462 hospitals throughout the country. Presently 1,311 patients are being treated in different hospitals. In total, 16,737 suspected cases have been placed in 328 quarantine centres.