Pakistan will not follow Western countries to combat coronavirus crisis, says Umar

• Umar says the country is blessed with best doctors and specialists and the government is taking feedback from them over the matter.
• Testing capacity has increased and 13,000 tests have been conducted during the past 24 hours: Planning minister.
• Coronavirus is an infectious disease and it will continue to spread, says Umar.

(Karachi) Planning Minister Asad Umar has said that Pakistan will not follow Western countries to combat coronavirus pandemic. He added the government has devised its own strategy to deal with the crisis.

Addressing the parliament on measures to cope with the health crisis, he said the country is blessed with best doctors and specialists and the government is taking feedback from them over the matter.

The planning minister maintained that the country's testing capacity has increased and 13,000 tests have been conducted during the past 24 hours. He informed the parliament members that there are 70 testing labs across the country to carry out corona tests.

Asad Umar pointed out that coronavirus is an infectious disease and it will continue to spread. He said the lockdown can in no means prove helpful in erasing the virus. "If a lockdown could have ended the virus, at least it would have been proven by at least one country," he remarked.

He mentioned that Prime Minister Imran Khan knew lockdown in the country will have negative impacts on economy and will affect the poor segments. "Soon other countries will realize the same," he said.