Pak PM Imran Khan declares "jihad" against Covid; asks youth to join 'Corona Tiger Force'

Pakistan PM Imran Khan urged the youth of the country to join the 'Corona Tiger Force', which he referred to as 'jihad' against Coronavirus pandemic. He urged the citizens of Pakistan, especially the youth to join the force. 

"I want youth to play their role in helping our fight against the COVID 19 by joining our Corona Tiger Force, which will be organised to do Jihad against the suffering caused by this pandemic," Imran Khan wrote on Twitter. 

Imran Khan on Monday announced the formation of 'Corona Relief Tiger Force' to battle the Coronavirus along with the Pakistani government and Qamar Bajwa-led Army. The Force will be responsible for delivering essential goods, food, engage in the awareness campaign, quarantine management and so on. In the thick of a global outbreak. Imran Khan rejected a total lockdown in the country, citing the economic impact it would have. He further justified his decision by saying that the situation of the country was not as bad as Italy or China due to Coronavirus. 

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Pakistan confirmed 2,238 positive Coronavirus cases on Thursday morning with--709 cases in Sindh province, 54 in Islamabad, 276 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 845 in Punjab, 164 in Balochistan, 6 in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and 184 in Gilgit Baltistan. Out of which, 31 have died while 82 have recovered. 

Pakistan increases testing capability 

Pakistan said on Tuesday that it considerably increased its testing capability since the coronavirus outbreak as the number of the COVID-19 cases crossed 1,900 in the country, showing a constant upward trajectory despite efforts to pull it downwards. Meanwhile, the government planned to rent two three-star hotels in the city to use their rooms to isolate suspected patients of the coronavirus. A 1,000-bed Expo Centre Hospital has also been completed for patient management and will start functioning soon.

"The country had the capacity to test 30,000 people on March 13, and this will rise to 280,000 by tomorrow…By April 15, we will further increase it to 900,000,” Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar, who was flanked by the Prime Minister's Advisor on Health Dr Zafar Mirza and Revenue Minister Hammad Azhar, told reporters. He said the government was balancing its measures to combat the virus and also ensure food supply to the people.

(With PTI inputs) 

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