'We have to live with the virus,' says PM Imran while explaining ease in lockdown restrictions

Prime Minister Imran Khan while addressing the nation on Friday to explain and defend the government's decision to ease the lockdown — imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus in Pakistan — said: "We have to live with the virus this year."

The premier said that he would like to especially address the medical community, because he is aware of how alarmed they were at the announcement of an ease in curbs, given the pressure it would create on medical facilities.

"I assure you my government has full realisation of what sort of pressures you must face, [given your profession and especially] with regard to your families and children."

He said it is important for the medical community to understand how a country tackles a problem of this magnitude, the choices it has to make, and the repercussions the decisions have on the whole society.

"If someone had told me with certainty that we need to keep the country locked down for three months and then we will defeat the virus, we could have done it. We would have dedicated all our resources to fighting it and would have tried to ensure food supplies to homes with our volunteers.

"But all the medical experts in the world are saying there are no signs of a vaccine this year [...] so this means the virus isn't going anywhere," said the premier.

He said the rationale behind a lockdown was to prevent the spread of the virus as it is highly contagious. "But will the virus end with a lockdown?"

The premier then spoke of countries where a second surge of the virus is being witnessed, such as China, South Korea, Singapore, and Germany.

"We have to live with this virus. This year we have to make do with the virus."

'Saving people from hunger'

Continuing to address the medical community, he asked whether they really think the lockdown can stay enforced for another two months.

Comparing Pakistan's economy with that of developed countries, the premier once more spoke of how while the others had announced hundreds of billions of dollars worth of stimulus packages, Pakistan had only managed to allot $8bn.

He said those countries do not have the kind of poverty that Pakistan does.

Providing statistics based on a labour force survey carried out in 2017 and 2018, he said that there are 25 million people who are daily wage workers such as labourers.

"There are 25 million workers who depend on their daily wage or weekly wage [...] to feed their families they make use of this income.

"These are the people who were forced into their homes during the lockdown. They had no other means [to earn a livelihood]."

The premier said that consequently, 150 million people have become affected by the lockdown.

He said that Pakistan, despite the grave situation, had managed to do what many countries had not. Citing the example of the Ehsaas emergency cash programme whereby Rs12,000 had been distributed to families whose source of income had been taken away due to the lockdown, he said: "We gave out Rs12,000 through Ehsaas. How long can we do this? And how long will Rs12,000 last them?"

The premier said the situation was such that necessitated taking such measures; the government is fully aware of the pressure on the medical community and knows full well that cases will continue to rise.

Praising the work done by the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC), he said that the organisation assesses data from all over the country, evaluating factors such as the spread that is homegrown, that is attributed to influx of travellers, and the trend does point to an upward trajectory.

"But we also know that if we do not give [labourers] livelihood today there will be deaths from hunger.

"Others are saving their economy, we are saving people from hunger [...] we have no choice but to reopen the economy."

The premier said that beginning Monday, cash distribution under the Prime Minister Relief Fund will begin for all those who have lost their source of income due to the lockdown.

Things 'under control', but precautions a must

He said that "due to the steps taken in the country since the beginning, Pakistan did not see a fallout witnessed in other countries".

"We have things under control," said PM Imran.

He said that when he had addressed the nation on April 14, projections made till May 14 had predicted 52,695 cases and 1,324 deaths versus real figures of 35,700 cases and 770 deaths. "So our hospitals did not see the kind of pressure we had expected."

PM Imran appealed to the whole nation to follow the standard operating procedures laid out by the government for the safety of people. "If we see a spike in cases in certain areas, those areas will have to be put under lockdown again," he stressed, urging business and factory owners to act responsibly.

"In living with the virus, a great responsibility lies on the shoulders of the people [...] so we can ensure it does not spread and we can also keep our economy running."

Addressing the more than one million inductees to the Coronavirus Tiger Relief Force, he said their chief responsibility is to spread awareness among the people of the importance of taking precautions.

Reopening of public transport

The prime minister also spoke on the issue of reopening public transport. Insisting that all decisions are made with consensus between the provinces, he said due to reservations of some, the transport had not been reopened.

"I believe that whatever steps we take must take into account helping the most affected — our lower income strata of society [...] when we shut public transport, we must remember we are making life difficult for the poor.

"So I request everyone to open public transport. America has not shut it, Europe hasn't. Why have we?"

'Wearing masks now made mandatory'

Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar praised the media for its role in raising awareness regarding precautionary measures. He said that the health ministry had also now issued directives for the people  to wear masks in crowded places.

Umar said he was not satisfied with the current testing capacity that has increased by up to 27 times since March. He said that the government would increase it further, in time. The minister said from two laboratories, the country now has 70 that can carry out testing.

He also lauded the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) for arranging masks and equipment, including ventilators. He said no supply shortages are being witnessed.

Speaking of the testing, tracking and quarantining initiative undertaken about eight days ago, the minister said that more than 500 points, alleys, neighbourhoods, where a surge in cases was witnessed, had been sealed using the latest data technology.

He also spoke of the steps taken for community mobilisation to spread awareness. “The government has reached out to organisations who have the most resources on the ground and an agreement has been made after which community mobilisation has begun in nearly all districts,” he said.

Repatriations

Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on National Security Division and Strategic Policy Planning Moeed Yusuf said that 23,000 stranded Pakistanis have been brought back including 11,000-11,500 in this week alone.

“Pakistanis will be repatriated from Bangladesh, Middle East, United States, South Africa, and Europe this week,” he said.

“Repatriated Pakistanis will be kept in quarantine for a day or two to ensure their health and safety,” he said, adding: “We are focusing on the people, who are labourers in the Middle East."

He said that planes coming back empty are from  those regions where people do not need to be repatriated immediately.

“After taking special permission from the US, we started our services to bring back Pakistanis and now we are receiving news that they do not want to come back,” he said.