Headlines 12pm: Federal Cabinet meeting underway, COVID-19 cases rise

Here are the headlines from SAMAA TV’s 12pm bulletin:

• A meeting of the Federal Cabinet will be led by Prime Minister Imran Khan today. It will discuss the coronavirus situation in the country. Provincial heads will give the premier details on the smart lockdowns. The meeting will also consider the construction of buildings near airports in Karachi and Islamabad. The cabinet will also approve the establishment of coronavirus fund by the State Bank.
• Pakistan has reported the highest number of deaths from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours at 111 taking the total number of deaths to 2,839. At least 4,443 new cases were reported, taking the virus total in the country to 148,921.
• PM Khan will visit Karachi on a one-day trip today. He will meet Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah and discuss the coronavirus situation in the city and the expected smart lockdown in high-density areas. He will also visit Larkana and Jacobabad.
• More medical aid to fight the deadly virus has been sent to the country from China. The aid reached Islamabad on Tuesday. According to NDMA Chairperson, there are 150,000 N-95 masks and 1.5 million surgical masks. He added that the authority is working on providing more beds to coronavirus patients. “We will be looking over the situation in Peshawar and Karachi today,” he said.
• More than 80 areas of Lahore will be sealed from Tuesday midnight for two weeks as the number of coronavirus cases in the city has spiked. More than 400,000 people in these areas have been infected. The Tiger Force has been allotted to make sure SOPs in these areas are implemented. Preparations for a smart lockdown are also under way in Faisalabad.
• Sindh Minister for Energy Imtiaz Sheikh has said that if a curfew is imposed, it will not just be in Sindh but across the country. He added that given to the prevailing COVID-19 condition in the city, a strict lockdown will be imposed.
• More than seven million people across the world have been affected by the coronavirus so far. The global toll of deaths has surpassed 400,000. Brazil has reported more than 23,000 cases, the highest number of cases reported in 24 hours. Spain has reported zero deaths since June 8 while New Zealand has reported two new cases after the 25-day streak of no new infections. The UK will start the human trials of coronavirus vaccines today.
• The budget of Punjab is realistic and is better than the previous government, said CM Usman Buzdar. He said that despite the pressure on the economy, the government has provided tax relief of Rs56 billion.
• Federal Minister for Science and Technology Fawad Chaudhry says that the real murderer of journalist Babar Wali Khan Babar is in London. This arrest has reminded us what a place Karachi used to be. Comparatively, today the country is nothing less than heaven, he added.
• Three children reportedly died of food poisoning in Karachi’s Kharadar on Monday, according to the police. The children ate burgers from an eatery on Burns Road on June 13, a police officer told SAMAA TV. The family took their bodies without conducting their postmortem examination and buried them at Mewa Shah Graveyard. Their grandfather recorded a statement with the police and said that the family doesn’t want to register a case.
• The Dera Ismail Khan police detained a 13-year-old overnight for sharing a post them on social media. The child was kept in a lockup and his parents or lawyer weren’t allowed to meet him.
• Weather forecasters have warned that there will be a heatwave in the country in the upcoming three to four days. The weather in Karachi and other neighbourhoods will get cloudy.
• K-Electric spokesperson has warned of load shedding in Karachi in the upcoming months as for electricity has increased across the city leading to a shortage in the stock of furnace oil. Load shedding in industrial areas can go up to eight hours while residential areas will face power outages for two hours.
• The premier has permitted the Pakistan cricket team to go on a tour to England. PCB will present its request to the English Cricket board soon. The team will leave for the country at the end of June and will play three Test matches and three T-20s.

from Coronavirus – SAMAA https://ift.tt/2NeHQK9