The Supreme Court on Monday took back its decision to reopen markets on the weekend as the number of coronavirus cases continues to rise across the country.
The decision was announced by the apex court during hearing of the suo motu case regarding measures taken against the outbreak, a private TV channel reported. “Coronavirus does not differentiate between provinces. The federal government needs to take a lead on this and needs to come up with laws regarding this,” the court said.
Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed questioned if all departments in the country are functioning, why can the parliament not. “Laws are needed on a national level to deal with the coronavirus pandemic,” he remarked, adding that laws needed to be implemented on a national level. He further said that nothing will come out of press conferences but instead laws are needed. “China immediately came up with laws to stem the spread of the virus,” he noted, adding that saving lives is the basic need of the hour. “Where is the law which says that Covid-19 poses a threat to life,” he questioned.
The bench noted that although the provinces have their respective legislations for coronavirus, nothing is being done on the national level. The court was further informed by the NDMA’s legal team that the testing capacity has been increased to 30,000 tests per day. Upon this, the chief justice remarked that 30,000 tests are very less for a country with a 200 million people. The NDMA also informed the bench that 100 laboratories have been set up across country to conduct coronavirus tests. “The number of laboratories is less too. There should be 100 laboratories in Karachi alone,” the CJP remarked. “We are also feeling the heat after a judge has tested positive for the virus,” he added.
The court asked authorities to ensure sanitary workers are provided with the needed protective gear to carry out their daily work. Adjourning the case for two weeks, the court directed the federal government to submit a report regarding the locust attack in the country. The court asked the federal government to detail the damage the locusts have caused and the cost of importing food in case of food shortage in the country. The court also withdrew its decision to open markets and shopping malls over the weekend and allowed the government to form its own policy in this regard. The apex court, earlier last month, had ordered provinces to open all markets and shopping malls over the weekend for people to shop for Eid.
