LAHORE: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President Shahbaz Sharif is concerned at increasing ratio of coronavirus affliction among doctors and paramedical staff serving in the isolation wards.

Chairing a meeting of the party’s parliamentarians from Lahore and former mayors of the Metropolitan Corporation here on Sunday, he said the increasing cases of Covid-19 affliction among doctors and paramedical staff fighting on the front line in the war against Covid-19, are very disturbing.

The situation, he said in a statement issued after the meeting, exposed the government’s claims that it had provided protective gear to all the medical staff dealing with the coronavirus patients.

Demanding the government act immediately to improve conditions of the health officials, the former chief minister said that he had been repeatedly drawing attention of the authorities towards the fact that ill-equipped staff would fail to control the pandemic.

Praying for improvement in hospital conditions, he also urged the masses to observe precautions and guidelines given by the experts about how to protect themselves against the disease.

The PML-N president also demanded the government extend interest-free loans facility to the media houses besides clearing their dues outstanding towards the government so that they could pay their employees.

Demanding restoration of the local bodies for their use in the distribution of relief goods to the people at their doorstep, he urged the party activists to serve the people affected by the lockdown by supplying ration at their homes without hurting their ego and self-respect.

Meanwhile, the PPP has demanded the government undertake relief activities along with enforcing lockdown. The demand was made by Punjab chapter president Qamar Zaman Kaira while speaking at a meeting of central and provincial information secretaries of the parties through video link.

Dr Nafisa Shah, Faisal Kareem Kundi, Sindh Information Minister Nasir Shah, Munawar Anjum, Hassan Murtaza, Ch Manzoor, Robina Khalid and others attended the meeting.

Mr Kaira feared that with respect to coronavirus the situation would be critical in the country during the coming weeks and the government must ensure that relief works go on along with strict enforcement of lockdown.

He alleged that the federal government was giving bogus figures about the distribution of relief money among the deserving people.

Dr Shah lamented that Prime Minister Imran Khan failed to present himself as a statesman and provide leadership to the country during the crisis. The corona issue badly exposed him, she added.

Published in Dawn, April 13th, 2020