PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Friday allocated Rs32 billion to fight the impact of coronavirus epidemic, including Rs11.6 billion relief package to help 1.9 million poor families across the province to help them bear the economic downturn caused by the virus.

The package was approved by the provincial cabinet in a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Mahmood Khan here.

Mr Mahmood, who was accompanied by health minister Taimur Saleem Jhagra and adviser to the chief minister on information Ajmal Wazir, said in a televised speech that around 400,000 daily wagers would be registered in the province for relief package.

He said his government would pay Rs2,000 to a deserving family in addition to Rs3,000 announced by the federal government.

“Every family will get a total sum of Rs5,000 every month for three months,” he said.

Cabinet okays Rs11.6bn relief package for 1.9m poor families

The chief minister said the package would cover 43 per cent of the province’s population.

He said the government would give away cash in a transparent manner instead of edible items.

Mr Mahmood said the package could be extended if the need arose.

“I am also ready to slash the province’s development funds for the people’s relief over the outbreak of coronavirus,” he said.

He said the province’s total allocation for fight against coronavirus amounted to Rs32 billion.

The chief minister said besides Rs11 billion for relief package, the province had also earmarked Rs8 billion for the health department and Rs6 billion for the relief and rehabilitation department, while Rs5 billion would be for businesses as tax exemptions.

He said the government had approved a relief package for the residents of Mardan district’s Manga union council, which had reported a large number of coronavirus cases.

RAPID RESPONSE TEAMS: In a separate televised briefing, spokesman for the KP government Ajmal Wazir said the cabinet also approved the formation of 500 rapid response teams to reach out to the affected families in case of an emergency.

He said the cabinet also approved the hiring of retired employees and students to back up health workers on a daily wage basis, while the people from any part of the country could be engaged on payment if the need arose.

The spokesman said the cabinet also approved the extension of the closure of educational institutions in the province until May 31, while the ban on government functions would last until April 30.

He said the cabinet also decided to extend the ban on job tests and interviews until May 31.

Mr Wazir said the closure of markets had been extended until April 10, while the restrictions won’t apply to courier and money transfer services.

He said intra- and inter-district public transport would remain suspended until April 5, while the non-essential government offices would remain closed until then 5.

The spokesman said outpatient and dental departments in hospitals would remain closed until April 5.

He said the cabinet approved Rs17.5 billion to purchase wheat.

Mr Wazir said the cabinet’s members opined that lockdown benefitted the province and would prevent coronavirus deaths.

He said the cabinet also decided to set up a ‘fever clinic’ to control the spread of coronavirus in health facilities.

Published in Dawn, March 28th, 2020