A representative delegation of renowned religious scholars of different schools of thought called on Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar at his office on Monday and announced to fully support the government for dealing with coronavirus.
Addressing the delegation, the chief minister announced that mosques will not be closed in Punjab. The Punjab government took the lead to write to the federal government on January 03 about coronavirus and also set up a control room in the health department. Similarly, a cabinet committee has also been established to monitor the steps being taken for controlling the coronavirus. This committee regularly holds its meetings while Rs 24 crore has been released to the health department for the procurement of necessary medical equipment, he added. The government has also allocated an amount of one billion rupees for the health department to cope with the possible coronavirus threat.
The chief minister told that 41 high dependency units in DHQ hospitals have 541 beds capacity. Special hospitals have been established in Muzaffargarh, Lahore and Rawalpindi for the treatment of coronavirus while quarantine facility has been established in DG Khan, Multan and Bahawalpur to monitor health conditions of the pilgrims, he said. The chief minister told that 760 pilgrims have reached DG Khan and they are being screened. Meanwhile, additional ten thousand kits are being procured to diagnose coronavirus, he added.
The chief minister said that Punjab cabinet has also given approval to public health emergency adding that corona treatment facility can be set up within one week for one lac people. He told that ban has been imposed on public gatherings under Section 144 in Punjab and public awareness campaign is also in progress. People should not be panicked and adopt precautionary measures, he told. Nations go through sufferings and by the grace of Allah almighty, we will succeed, he added. The religious scholars should sensitise the people about coronavirus. The government appreciates religious scholars’ recommendations, he added. The religious scholars appreciated the steps taken by the Punjab government for safety from coronavirus.
Punjab Law Minister Raja Basharat said that religious scholars’ cooperation with the government is a positive tradition while provincial minister Dr Yasmin Rashid maintained that corona’s spread is fast and one should not go out of the home during holidays. Provincial minister Saeed-ul-Hassan Shah observed that people should avoid going to other places during the pandemic. The religious scholars were also given a briefing about precautionary measures and steps taken by the government. Khateeb Badshahi Masjid led the prayer for safety from the corona. Maulana Sahibzada Fazal Raheem, Maulana Ghulam Muhammad Sialvi, Maulana Tahir Mehmood Ashrafi, Hafiz Zubair Ahmad Zaheer, Allama Muhammad Hussain Akbar and other religious scholars also spoke on this occasion. Mussarat Jamshed Cheema MPA, Chief Secretary, ACS (Home), Secretaries of Information and Auqaf departments and others were also present.
Meanwhile, Usman Buzdar directed the line departments to ensure implementation on guidelines and steps for safety from coronavirus.
In a statement, he reiterated that the government has taken timely steps to protect people adding that there is no room for any negligence in this regard. He emphasized that every possible step is being taken to protect the people and reiterated that the government will continue to stand with the citizens. The unusual conditions require unusual steps and the people should avoid going to public places. People coming from abroad should also get them medically examined and health safety measures should be given priority to protect their families. The government is fully active and precautionary measures are yielding best results, he said. Meanwhile, practical steps have been taken against the hoarding of masks and other medical equipment and government is also focusing on the training of doctors and other paramedical staff, concluded the chief minister.
Usman Buzdar also expressed a deep sense of sorrow over the sad demise of former governor Lt Gen (r) Iftikhar Hussain. In a message, the chief minister extended heartfelt sympathies to the bereaved family and prayed that may Almighty Allah rest the departed soul in eternal peace.
