Pakistan may go into complete lockdown if COVID-19 cases continue to rise: PM Imran

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan has said Pakistan will be compelled to go into a complete lockdown if the COVID-19 cases continue to surge at the same rate.

PM Imran Khan, in a series of tweets, said that Pakistan’s second COVID 19 spike data is of concern as an increase in the virus patients on ventilators in the last 15 days rose in Peshawar and Multan by 200%, Karachi 148%, Lahore 114% and Islamabad 65% while Multan Islamabad’s Covid ventilators capacity utilization has reached 70 percent.

& complete lockdowns in most countries. In Pak, the PDM by continuing with jalsas is deliberately endangering lives & livelihoods bec if cases continue to rise at the rate we are seeing, we will be compelled to go into complete lockdown & PDM will be responsible for consequences

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) November 22, 2020

He further said that across the world there is a second spike and complete lockdowns in most countries but in Pakistan, the PDM by continuing with rally (jalsas) is deliberately endangering lives and livelihoods. The opposition can hold a million jalsas but will not get any NRO from him, he added.

PM Imran further said that he does not want to take measures like a lockdown that will start hurting Pakistan’s economy which at the moment is showing signs of a robust recovery but unfortunately, the opposition’s only goal is NRO at whatever cost to the lives of people and the country’s economy.

Opposition is callously destroying people"s lives & livelihoods in their desperation to get an NRO. Let me make it clear: they can hold a million jalsas but will not get any NRO.

— Imran Khan (@ImranKhanPTI) November 22, 2020

Coronavirus claimed the lives of 59 more critical patients while 2,665 people tested positive for the virus during the last 24 hours in Pakistan.

Pakistan has reported 59 deaths in the last 24 hours by novel COVID-19 as the number of positive cases has surged to 374,173. The nationwide tally of fatalities has jumped to 7,662 on Sunday.

According to the latest figures by the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), 2,665 persons tested positive for COVID-19 in the past 24 hours.

Sindh remains the worst-hit province by the pandemic in terms of cases followed by Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan. Punjab has overtaken Sindh in the most number of casualties.

So far 162,227 COVID-19  cases have been confirmed in Sindh, 114,010 in Punjab, 44,097 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 16,744 in Balochistan, 26,569 in Islamabad, 6,000 in Azad Kashmir and 4,526 in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Besides 2,848 individuals have lost their lives to the epidemic in Punjab 2,816 in Sindh, 1,325 in KP, 161 in Balochistan, 278 in Islamabad, 140 in Azad Kashmir and 94 in GB.

Pakistan has so far conducted 5,180,026 COVID-19  tests and 38,983 in the last 24 hours. 329,828 coronavirus patients have recovered in the country whereas 1,653 patients are in critical condition.