The federal cabinet has approved an assistance package for healthcare workers fighting on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic.

According to a statement, "any healthcare worker, who dies while performing duties related to Covid-19 shall be entitled to the same package as is applicable to government servants in cases of security-related deaths contained in Shuhada Package."

The package will be applicable for healthcare workers in Islamabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan.

The prime minister directed that export of edible items "consumed by the common man" be banned. The decision will be reviewed in two weeks, the statement added.