Federal Minister for Industries and Production Hammad Azhar on Thursday said that the healthcare sector will be provided oxygen on a priority basis, as the number of coronavirus cases rises across Pakistan.

“The Ministry of Industries has held a meeting with major oxygen producers and reached a decision with them to supply/redirect oxygen to healthcare on a first-priority basis,” said Azhar.

“Three additional oxygen plants in the private sector will also be coming in production within the next two weeks,” the minister added.

Earlier, the minister said the government achieved remarkable success during the last fiscal year, especially in its first nine months while all financial needs had been equated as per resources in this federal budget 2020-21.

He stated this while concluding a discussion on the Finance Bill 2020-21 in the Senate. The minister said the government tried to minimize the impact of COVID-19 on the economy by pursuing a prudent strategy.