COVID-19: PM Office to work with skeleton staff

ISLAMABAD: Most of the officers and staff members of the Prime Minister’s Office have been directed to work from home as skeleton staff has been posted at the office due to rapidly increasing number of coronavirus infections, ARY News reported on Wednesday.

According to a PM Office circular the officers and other staff members have been issued instructions with regard to their office work.

All joint secretaries of the office have been directed to perform work from their homes except the Joint Secretary (Admin).

The deputy secretaries will perform their office work week to week, according to the PM Office order.

The staff of various departments will work according to the duty roster, office order said.

The office order also said that the Joint Secretaries should appoint an employee for files and office documents.

The officers working from home should not leave their station and must remain available at phone call, PM Office order said. “The officials could be summoned at any time in case of emergency,” the order added.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Pakistan has jumped to 113,702 after detection of record 5,328 new infections in last 24 hours, ARY News reported on Wednesday.

According to the latest data released by the National Command and Operation Center, death toll from COVID-19 is currently recorded at 2,255 with 83 more virus-related deaths reported in the past 24 hours in Pakistan.

According to NCOC, 41,303 cases have been detected in Sindh, 43,460 in Punjab, 14,527 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 7,031 in Balochistan, 5,963 in Islamabad, 444 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 974 in Gilgit Baltistan.

So far 36,308 patients have recovered from coronavirus in the country, while 75,139 are still fighting the deadly virus.

Pakistan carried out 23,799 tests to detect coronavirus in the last 24 hours taking the overall number of the tests in the country to 754,252.