Staff Report
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Imran Khan on Thursday said imposing lockdown was not a solution to the coronavirus, rather a temporary step and the government would take its decisions according to the ground realities and condition of the people.
Chairing a meeting about the COVID-19 situation, the prime minister said the lockdown had a negative effect on the routine life of the people.
However, due to the unprecedented situation the government was maintaining balance between hunger and the lockdown by adopting various precautionary measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus pandemic .
The hunger, he said, was more dangerous for the people than the lockdown. In the present situation, if the economy was not revived the problems of the poor and downtrodden segments of the society would increase.
He said the government was cognizant of the losses the country’s economy had suffered due to the closure of businesses but it had to take that step under compulsion.
The coronavirus was a reality and the government would implement the guidelines about precautionary measures and to prevent the virus so as to save the people’s lives, he added.
Emphasizing on a friendly awareness campaign about the coronavirus, the prime minister said instead of forcing the people to adopt precautionary measures, there was a need of creating awareness among them. He directed the police should adopt a friendly attitude instead of coercive measures.
Imran Khan appreciated the media for creating public awareness about the pandemic and said the media should further pursue the people in a more effective way about adopting precautionary measures and implementing the guidelines regarding containing the virus.
The chief ministers of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa informed the meeting about the difficulties of a common man due to the closure of transport, which had badly affected their business and movement.
