Chief Minister Punjab Sardar Usman Buzdar said that 550 pilgrims in DG Khan quarantine facility were being sent homes as they tested negative for coronavirus. Likewise, the Punjab government also decided to improve the supply of essential items to facilitate the people. There is no shortage of anything including flour and availability of daily-use items in markets will be fully ensured. This was stated by him while chairing a meeting about anti-coronavirus arrangements at his office on Thursday. The chief minister directed to initiate crackdown against hoarders and profiteers as people cannot be left at their mercy. He further directed to improve the food supply chain. He expressed the satisfaction that new testing labs will be soon made functional to provide corona test facility at the divisional level. The government has released 62 crore rupees to the health department for this purpose besides allocating three thousand beds for coronavirus patients in government hospitals, he said. Along with it, the availability of three thousand beds in private hospitals has also been identified. The government has further arranged 50,000 beds through mapping of hostels of different educational institutions, said Usman Buzdar. He stated that 12 billion rupees have been released to the health department for the procurement of necessary medical equipment for doctors and paramedics. The Punjab government has also approached the federal government to start the Zakat deduction process one month earlier, he disclosed and further added that necessary arrangements have been made to treat the coronavirus patients. The stock and supply of essential items, as well as procurement of necessary medical equipment, was reviewed in detail. Provincial ministers Raja Basharat, Dr Yasmeen Rashid, Hashim Jawan Bakht, Chief Secretary and health secretaries attended the meeting.
