PESHAWAR: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Finance Minister Taimur Khan Jhagra on Thursday said that so far there are only six districts in the province where no cases have been detected.
The areas include Chitral, Upper and Lower Kohistan, Battagram etc. According to Jhagra, the reason behind zero cases being recorded in these areas is the thin population.
KP’s coronavirus toll currently stands at 912, according to the government’s database, with 42 deaths. Some 191 patients have recovered so far. The recovery ratio is 21%, third-highest after Gilgit-Baltistan, Sindh and Balochistan.
Separately, earlier in the day, thanked traders in the province for working with the government during this difficult time, adding that the country could not afford any unrest at the moment.
Taking to Twitter, the minister said: “Had a marathon session with representatives of KP traders at the secretariat. It was important to listen to them at length because we feel their pain. Everyone in the country and most of the world is going through a difficult time as never experienced before in our lives.
“Rest assured that we will find a way for your businesses to run. It is a priority. But let us take considered risks and not take decisions with unintended consequences,” he said.
2. I thank all the traders for working with the govt at this difficult time. The one thing we cannot afford as a country at this point is unrest. Why? Because it means people together in an uncontrolled manner, and that will put lives at risk. Let no one play politics with lives. pic.twitter.com/RdW9ZBdFEL
— Taimur Khan Jhagra (@Jhagra) April 16, 2020
The federal government on Tuesday, while extending the duration of the lockdown, allowed some industries to reopen.
The sectors that opened up after the announcement include the construction industry (cement shops, bricks kilns, crushing plants, bitumen and prefabricated construction materials), chemical and manufacturing plants, e-commerce for export, e-commerce for local deliveries of necessary items, software development and programming, paper and packaging units, plants nurseries, cement plants, fertilizer plants, mines and minerals, laundry services, agriculture machinery/equipment manufacturing plants, glass manufacturing, veterinary services, stationery and book dealers and all export industries provided their export orders are approved by Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP).
Prime Minister Imran Khan, who had announced the decision taken in a meeting of the National Coordination Committee (NCC), said the Centre and provinces had a general consensus on the opening of some essential industries and adopting precautionary measures.
However, he had added, the provinces could implement their own policies where needed.
