Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said the current mortality rate in the country from coronavirus outbreak is ‘lower than feared’. “We had thought that our intensive care units (ICUs) will be overwhelmed by now but that is not the case,” the prime minister told a briefing on Covid-19 situation in the country. He said the number of Covid-19 cases and deaths in the country is much lower than earlier predicted, adding that Pakistan’s situation in terms of coronavirus and related response is ‘much better’ than other countries. He said the coronavirus relief fund will be used to help those individuals who have lost their employment during the outbreak. He said an SMS campaign will be started for the relief fund and the new project to support people out of jobs will require proof of unemployment. “For every rupee donated, the government will match it with Rs 4 in the fund,” he said, adding that the ‘Corona Relief Tigers Force’ has been informed to set up a desk in each union council to check who has been unemployed. “There are many white-collar workers who have been unemployed and who will not come forward,” he said. “We will use the Imams of mosques to know who the unemployed people are,” he added. Speaking at an event ‘Changing Calamity into Opportunity,’ here at COMSTECH, Prime Minister Imran Khan said that the government will ensure to chalk out a comprehensive vision and long-term planning to steer the country out of crisis and improve the living standard of the common man besides lifting people out of poverty. He said there is no lack of talent in Pakistan but unfortunately no government in the past focused on self-belief, knowledge economy and research and development. “If the Pakistanis living abroad can excel in various fields then why not here, because we could not provide them such a system where they can utilize and flourish their talent,” he added. The prime minister said Covid-19 crisis has provided an opportunity to produce locally manufactured ventilators and other protective equipment as everything cannot be imported. “If we can develop the atomic bomb, then why not ventilators,” he added. He said had elites of the country including the ministers go to the public hospitals for their treatment instead of going abroad on public money, the public hospitals and health infrastructure would have improved to a great extent. He said the government would have to improve the public hospitals and revamp medical infrastructure in the country. The prime minister said the government did not opt for a complete lockdown as it would have badly hit the poor and down-trodden segments of the society, adding that a country where there is an ocean of poor people and few rich cannot make progress. He said China has lifted 700 million people out of poverty, adding that the present government is committed to work for the poor segment of the society and ameliorate their lot. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan held a telephonic conversation with Egyptian President Abdel Fatteh Sisi and conveyed Pakistan’s solidarity with the people and the government of Egypt and commended their effective measures to control the spread of Covid-19. The wide-ranging discussion between the two leaders focused on their respective national approaches to managing Covid-19 and Prime Minister Imran Khan’s call to launch a ‘Global Initiative on Debt Relief’ for the developing countries, a PM Office news release said. The prime minister fondly recalled their earlier interaction on the sidelines of the OIC Summit in Makkah and the UN General Assembly Session in New York during 2019. He congratulated President Sisi for pursuing an effective national strategy. He also highlighted the key elements of Pakistan’s approach aimed at saving lives from the scourge of the virus and protecting the most vulnerable segments of population from acute economic distress. On the issue of debt, the prime minister underscored that while debt suspension would help free up resources in the developing countries to manage the unprecedented global health and economic crisis, where people were facing a stark choice – death by Covid-19 or by hunger – more measures are needed to reboot the developing countries’ economies. President Sisi expressed support for the prime minister’s debt relief initiative. The prime minister stressed the importance of working together to evolve a comprehensive plan to turn the crisis generated by global pandemic into an opportunity for economic regeneration. The two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to further solidify the close fraternal ties between Pakistan and Egypt. Prime Minister Imran Khan reiterated his invitation to President Sisi to visit Pakistan at the earliest convenience.