As the government is set to take a decision on ongoing lockdown in the country imposed in the wake of coronavirus pandemic tomorrow, senior government functionaries have warned that easing the restrictions at this stage may be a ‘grave mistake’ and may even prove ‘catastrophic’ for the country. Addressing a press conference Islamabad, Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza argued that easing restrictions right now will be a grave mistake for a country that is still fighting against Covid-19. “Some people look at our numbers and think we haven’t had as many cases and deaths as other countries. This sort of thinking is a serious mistake,” he said, cautioning that new cases and deaths will soar if restrictions were relaxed. “In fact, we should consider adding to our existing restrictions, if we can,” he advised. Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah said that 104 new coronavirus cases were detected in the province during the last 24 hours. “This is quite worrisome situation and its solution lies in social distancing and observing the lockdown in true letter and spirit,” he said. During the last 24 hours, 531 new samples were tested, and of them 104 were resulted in positive, he said. “This is 20 percent of the total tested cases which is highest average of positive cases in the world,” he said. Shah said that six patients expired till Thursday morning and the number of expired patients so far has reached 28. “The death ratio comes to 2.1 percent,” he said, adding that 922 patients, including 604 in home isolation and 35 at Isolation center, are under treatment at different hospitals. In Hyderabad, 135 patients are under treatment and in Karachi 111 are being treated in different hospitals. He said that 371 persons have recovered, and on Saturday 13 patients recovered and returned to their homes. Giving frequency of the positive cases, the chief minister said that 64 people between 1 to 10 years have been affected; 104 are the age of 11 to 20; 270 of 21 to 30 years; 227 of 31 to 40 years; 182 of 41 to 50 years; 197 of 51 to 60 years; 135 are between 61 to 70 years; 41 are between 71 to 80 and five of 81 to 90 years. This shows that it has affected the age group between 21 to 60 years, he added. The chief minister said that situation of the growth cases of coronavirus requires to ascertain how we have to lead our lives onward. “To me, its only solution is lockdown,” he said. “We have given orders for stricter measures in Malir,” he said, while noting that cases are also rising in Hyderabad, forcing the authorities to enforce stricter measures. The CM noted that the situation regarding the curbing of the disease is deteriorating and the reason is lapses from the public’s side in following the orders. “A stricter lockdown is our need at the moment,” he added. Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar said Pakistan now has the capacity to conduct at least 100,000 Covid-19 tests in 26 laboratories situated across country, adding that the government may begin testing asymptomatic individuals moving forward. “We’ve only been testing visibly symptomatic patients thus far. It is possible that we will start testing asymptomatic people going forward provided they came in contact with those who have already tested positive,” Umar said during a press conference alongside Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza. He further revealed that the government has procured and distributed 14 new polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test machines among the provinces. “Yesterday we received material for 100,000 test kits, 50,000 of these will be given to Sindh while 25,000 to Balochistan,” he said. Citing South Korea’s mass testing and contact tracing as an example of a successful strategy against the coronavirus, Asad said that Pakistan also needs to conduct mass testing and contact tracing of those tested positive to curb the spread of Covid-19. He said a future course of action on the country’s fight against Covid-19, including the curbs on movement and businesses, will be determined after the National Coordination Committee (NCC) session on Monday. He added that the cabinet will be meeting Prime Minister Imran Khan before that on Sunday to seek his counsel regarding the country’s measures against the virus. “We will present our recommendations to the prime minister on measures such as quarantining, contact tracing and mass testing and seek his point of view on these matters,” Umar said. “Additionally, NCC will conduct its session on Monday and we expect chief ministers of all four provinces and Azad Jammu and Kashmir to be present there. My hope is that we can constitute a unified national plan going forward,” he added, reminding the nation that a full team at the National Command and Operation Centre is working in close coordination with the provinces at all times. news desk