‘You Are Not Immune To Coronavirus’: Imran Khan Warns Pakistanis As Covid-19 Cases Cross 2,800 Mark

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan, visiting Lahore on Saturday (4 April), warned that the nation wasn’t immune to the threat of Covid-19. Khan’s remarks came when he was in the city to monitor the measures taken by the Punjab government, the province where more than 1000 positive cases have been confirmed.

Khan visited a makeshift hospital with 1000 beds set up by the provincial government to treat patients suffering from the coronavirus. Pakistan, with a population of 200-million people, has registered 2818 cases and 41 deaths already.

“When we emerge from this challenge, we will be a totally different nation. Those who take such times as a test and face it head on as a challenge, come out stronger”, Khan was quoted saying in a report by India Today.

The fear of Covid-19 has also been aggravated by the gathering of the Tablighi Jamaat, an Islamic missionary movement, from March 10 and March 12.

Already, authorities in Pakistan are searching for tens of thousands of worshippers who attended the gathering in Lahore last month. As per a report in South China Morning Post, the gathering hosted more than 100,000 people which took place despite the authorities’ request to cancel the event. Following the massive outbreak of the virus in the state, the gathering’s location point has been sealed off.

As of today, more than 150 people who were part of the gathering were tested positive with 2 deaths. Pakistan’s Science Minister Fawad Chaudhry’, while expressing his concern against the Jamaat, blamed the ‘stubbornness of the clergy’ for aiding the outbreak of the virus while senior Tablighi preacher Naeem Butt said it was “ignorant” and “irresponsible” to blame the movement for spreading the virus as per the same report.

Pakistan, with its faltering economy, faces an unprecedented challenge with the Covid-19 outbreak. Despite most countries opting for a lockdown, Khan has been speaking against a complete lockdown fearing it would impact the marginalised communities in the country.