Coronavirus lockdown extended to April 19 in Gilgit Baltistan

GILGIT: Gilgit-Baltistan government on Saturday decided to extend lockdown in the region till April 19 amid coronavirus pandemic, ARY NEWS reported.

The decision was made in a cabinet meeting headed by Chief Minister Hafeezur Rehman. The meeting also mulled and decided over 11 items on the agenda.

A committee was formed to decide over allowing operations of the construction sector in the region while the cabinet also gave nod to a scheme to facilitate consumers on power utility bills.

It was also decided to bring back the residents of Gilgit Baltistan from other parts of the country and the government would provide transport facilities for the purpose.

The government also approved a food package for daily-wagers and labourers suffering from lockdown other than giving a special grant to government employees who are performing duties to tackle coronavirus pandemic in the region.

The meeting also decided to introduce e-learning for students as public and private sector institutions would provide syllabus to them at their doorstep.

It is pertinent to mention here that Gilgit Baltistan has witnessed a decrease in coronaviurs cases although the testing capacity in the region is below par at 100 tests per day.

Overall 215 virus cases have been reported from the region of which three people had died due to complications till today.

Overall 15 coronavirus patients recovered on Thursday in Gilgit Baltistan, a federally administered area, bringing down the total number of active patients in the region to 101.

According to details provided by the information ministry, two more cases of the virus have been reported from the region today, bringing the total number of active patients to 116. However, 15 of them recovered today after testing negative, lowering the tally to 101.

On April 07,  overall 28 patients of coronavirus recovered in Gilgit Baltistan.