Pakistan gets positive response from China on locust handling

By Masood Sattar Khan
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Pakistan has received positive response from China for cooperation in agriculture sector including locust handling. 

This was revealed in a tweet from the Chairman of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) authority and Prime Minister’ Special Assistant on Information and Broadcasting, Lt Gen (retired), Asim Saleem Bajwa, on May 3. 

It said that the first joint working group meeting on agriculture with the Chinese counterpart got positive response for cooperation on locust handling, pest control, use of latest technology, germ plasma for certified seeds, use of agriculture machinery and training of agri-human resource. 

The meeting also focused on enhancing yield and food security

Coronavirus Update: Above average fatalities in Sindh

By Mukhtar Alam
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

At least seven COVID-19 patients on average had died every day through last week in Sindh as the authorities in the government confirmed eight new deaths on May 3, pushing the provincial total of fatalities to 130, out of 7,465 infections, since March 21 when the first related death was reported. 

According to official data updated on May 3, Sindh reported the biggest increase in the number of confirmed Coronavirus cases in a week as 2,850, as about 38% of the total cases reported in in the province. The average number of new cases per day came as 407 through the week (April 27 to May 3).

The authorities, however, did not release the details of the patients who lost their life during the last 24 hours ending at 8 am on May 3. 

Even there was no information about the district wherein the deceased lived in, leave alone their age, gender and place of treatment, either a public or private hospital or home. 

As per data, four patients died on April 27, seven on April 28, nine on April 29, 12 (the all days’ highest) on April 30, six on May 1, four on May 2 and eight on May 3. 

As many as 65,052 people, including expatriates, pilgrims and tableeghi jamat members, have been tested for confirmation of coronavirus across the province so far. A total 363 new infections were confirmed on May 3 while 3,032 tests were conducted. 

The Sindh Chief Minister, Syed Murad Ali Shah, in his message, revealed that 5,780 patients were under treatment at the moment in the province (4638 at homes, 615 at isolation centres and 527 at hospitals)  out of which 76 were in critical conditions while 15 were shifted to ventilators. 

The districts which reported new cases on May 3 included Karachi (249), Larkana (30), Ghotki (25), Hyderabad (13), Shaheed Benazirabad (10), Khairpur (10), Shikarpur (10), Jacobabad (10), Sukkur (8), Matiari (2) and Dadu (1).

In the meantime, a senior health official in Islamabad said that situation was getting alarming everywhere in the country and it seemed that May could be a difficult month across provinces. 

He expected the COVID-19 peak in the country by early June and steady decline thereon. “Few months of relief and then a challenging winter unless any effective treatment emerges,” he warned.

Lady police officer sets another example

By Masood Sattar Khan
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Superintendent of Police, Suhai Aziz Talpur, who earned fame and recognition for valiant fight to foil terrorists attack on the Chinese Consulate in Karachi, added another feather her cap when she got a mentally ill young girl hailing from Sujawal married after getting her recovered from illness. 

According to details, SP Suhai Aziz, presently posted in Sujawal, found Najma, a young mentally ill girl, strolling on the streets in the area of her jurisdiction. When the girl news got viral on social media, a number of philanthropists came out to help her treatment. 

But SP Suhai Aziz had already rescued the girl and shifted here to Safe Home in Sujawal, where Najma was properly looked after besides being provided the best medical treatment.

Najma, after four months of treatment and successful counseling, recovered and her nikah was solemnized with Mumtaz Mullah on first Jumma of Ramazan (May 1). 

On the directives of SP Suhai Aziz, a house was also arranged for the newly married couple in Thatta, besides immediate provision of food and other daily necessities for them. The Deputy Commissioner, Thatta, had also arranged for them some relief goods. 

It may be recalled that the young police officer, Suhai Aziz Talpur, got international attention, particularly in China, for her valiant fight against terrorists attack on Chinese Consulate at Karachi in the winter 2018.

Madonna tested positive for COVID-19

By Syed Sajid Aziz in USA
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The iconic American singer-songwriter, Madonna, has revealed having tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19) antibodies.

The 61-year-old celebrity took to Instagram to make the announcement as she posted a video of herself on IGTV through the latest edition of her ‘quarantine diaries’ series. 

“I took a test the other day and found out that I have the antibodies, so tomorrow, I’m just going to go for a long drive in a car, and I’m gonna roll down the window, and I’m gonna breathe in the COVID-19 air,” she remarked rather dramatically. 

Later, from a milky bath sprinkled with rose petals, Madonna informed the colossal number of her fans and followers that the novel coronavirus was ‘the great equalizer.’ 

"That's the thing about COVID-19. It doesn't care about how rich you are, how famous you are, how funny you are, how smart you are, where you live, how old you are, what amazing stories you can tell. It's the great equalizer and what's terrible about it is what's great about it," she reckoned.

Portal launched to support jobless due to COVID-19 pandemic

Pakistan News & Features Services

Pakistan has launched a web portal to financially support the eligible individuals having been rendered jobless due to COVID-19 pandemic. 

Applications have been invited from such individuals falling in the categories mentioned in the drop menu of the application which can be accessed on https://ehsaaslabour.nadra.gov.pk/ehsaas/. 

Under this initiative, the disbursements from the PM COVID-19 Relief Fund will be made to those who have lost their jobs as a result of the COVID-19 crisis under the Ehsaas Emergency Cash. 

Prime Minister Imran Khan, who launched the portal in Islamabad on May 2, announced that the government was providing succor to the downtrodden and underprivileged classes through its flagship Ehsaas programme which was unprecedented in the country’s history. 

He disclosed that, under this programme, Rs 83 billion had already been distributed among 6.8 million families in three weeks while in the second phase, the individuals, having lost their jobs during the pandemic, would be supported financially.

Patel Hospital takes fresh guard after completing two decades

Pakistan News & Features Services

Patel Hospital, a project of the Patel Foundation, housed in Karachi’s bustling area of Gulshan-e-Iqbal, has been providing free healthcare to the underprivileged since the past couple of decades through its welfare programme, besides serving the community.

Established in 1999, Patel Hospital has been providing state of the art modern medical & surgical facilities to affording and non-affording patients. The 250-bedded hospital offers a complete range of inpatient and outpatient care through advanced equipment and a team of highly skilled, qualified and trained professionals. 

Syed Abdul Qadir Jeelani, a management committee member of Patel Hospital, shared with PNFS that their institution has been actively providing services of curative, restorative and preventive character of highest quality possible to all segments of society regardless of race, caste, creed, colour and economic status and the beneficiaries do not only include the local population of Karachi but the comprehensive health care facilities imbibe all sort of patients from interior Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) and Punjab provinces. 

“Patel Hospital has successfully achieved the status of a teaching and tertiary healthcare hospital. It has been accredited with Pakistan Medical & Dental Council and College of Physicians & Surgeons Pakistan for post-graduate training while Patel Institute of Nursing & Allied Health Science is affiliated with Pakistan Nursing Council for General Nursing Diploma and Sindh Medical Faculty for Technician Certification Courses in different specialties,” he added.

“After having completed two decades of service, we look forward to serving the community with even greater zeal in future,” the senior management committee member stated.

Australia to persuade Google, Facebook to pay for news content

Pakistan News & Features Services

Just a few weeks after France’s competition authority ordered Google to negotiate with publishers over payments to reuse snippets of content in its news aggregator and Google Search, Australia has declared that it will start forcing Google and Facebook to pay news companies for content, in a landmark move aimed at shielding traditional media from the tech giants’ digital dominance. 

A mandatory code of conduct is set to be unveiled by July which would require the firms to reimburse Australian media companies for using their news and other content. The move is being aimed at shielding traditional media from tech giants’ digital dominance. 

“What we want to see is a level playing field. What we want to see here is a fair go for the companies and for the journalistic content that is prepared,” Treasurer Josh Frydenberg was quoted as saying in a recent television interview. 

He added that the government was imposing the measures after discussions on a voluntary code failed to make headway, with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on advertising revenues hastening the need for action. 

“That hasn’t made meaningful progress so now we are taking the decisive decision to create a mandatory code, seeking to be the first country in the world to ensure that these social media giants pay for content,” he remarked.

COVID-19 course for medical students introduced

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The Aga Khan University’s Medical College has introduced a new COVID-19 course for students in all five years of its undergraduate programme in medicine and surgery (MBBS). 

The six-week course will provide students with the latest research and evidence on the structure of the disease, its development and spread, and ways to prevent and manage the coronavirus in hospital and community settings. 

“The current health crisis is unprecedented, and requires us to adapt our curriculum to provide our graduates with the necessary skill set required to deal with pandemics in general, and COVID-19 in particular,” Dr Sadaf Khan, associate dean of undergraduate education at the AKU, observed. 

She noted that the recent pandemics such as Ebola, SARS, MERS and now COVID-19 represent threats to our way of life and the long-term stability of our health systems which required universities to adopt a different approach to the study of pandemics. 

“This is a public health issue that will be of concern for an indeterminate period of time. It will impact the delivery of medical care at all levels. This module will better prepare our students for the challenges that lie ahead,” Dr Sadaf Khan added. 

The course also includes a module on the use of artificial intelligence in pandemics as a tool for surveillance, diagnosis and drug development. Penultimate and final-year students will also study diagnostic methods as well as how to create treatment plans for patients depending on the severity of the disease. 

“This course gives students the chance to understand COVID-19 from a health systems point of view. This kind of cutting-edge academic work allows our students to engage in the public health response as learners as they gear up to become tomorrow’s frontline healthcare leaders,” Dr Adil Haide, Dean, Medical College, added.

Coronavirus Update: Karachi reports all time high of 504 infections

By Mukhtar Alam
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

Karachi reported an all days’ highest 504 new COVID-19 cases, with six relevant deaths on May 1, taking the provincial tally of infected people to 6,675 across the province, according to authorities in the government. 

The latest COVID-19 data showed a 68% increase in Karachi as the cases on May 1 at 8 am, in comparison to 299 new cases confirmed in Karachi on April 30. 

However, insiders said that the spike was due to the fact that expatriates returning from Dubai, Sharjah and Colombo were tested for coronavirus recently and were included in the overall number of people tested in Karachi.

The Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah in his routine video message on May 1 said that three flights carrying 483 passengers from abroad had landed at Karachi on April 28 and 29, who were tested for COVID-19 later. 

As many as 190 of these passengers, including 92 belonging to Sindh, 56 to Punjab, 24 to KPK and 18 to Balochistan, tested positive for the virus. 

Keen observers noted that confirmation of COVID-19 in 40 percent of the examined passengers calls the authorities in Pakistan to maintain strict checking of the expatriates and isolate them from the general population till the time they were not declared free of the virus. 

“I don’t know how the infected and non-infected Pakistanis were brought in same flights,” lamented a public health concerned. 

Official sources said that six more COVID-19 patients lost their lives in public and private hospitals and at home in Karachi, pushing the tally of deceased patients to 118 for the province. 

About Karachi, it was learnt that its South district housed 1,301 COVID positive patients, followed by East (1,059 positive cases), Central (815), West (549), Malir (472) and Korangi (460). 

Majority of over 5,250 positive cases are receiving treatments isolated at home, while a good number of them are also admitted to the hospitals, including the Aga Khan University Hospital (55), Peoples Medical College Hopsital, Nawabshah (52), Gadap Hospital (48), PNS Shifa (36), DUHS Ojha Hospital (35), Civil Hospital Karachi (34), Isra Hospital, Hyderabad (34), Bibi Asefa Dental College (36), Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation (31), Jinnah Postgraduate Medical Centre (21), Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences Hospital (21), Indus Hospital, Korangi (21) and others, according to official sources. 

Apart from Karachi, 20 other districts of Sindh also reported new infections on May 1 morning – Hyderabad (19), Jamshoro (1), Badin (1), Shaheed Benazirabad (3), Naushehro Feroz (1), Sujawal (1), Thatta (1), Sanghar (4), Tando Mohammad Khan (5), Ghotki (17), Sukkur (6), Khairpur (2), Larkana (23), Dadu (1), Kambar Shahdadkot (1), Kashmore (3), Mirpurkhas (2), Tharparkar (1), Shikarpur (15) and Jacobabad (11). 

In all 3,384 people were tested for the virus, out of which 622 were found infected. The overall COVID-19 infection rate came as 11.55% across the province on May 1.

Sindh minister declares labourer as nation’s pride

By Abdul Qadir Qureshi
(Pakistan News & Features Services)

The Sindh Minister for Information and Local Government, Syed Nasir Hussain Shah, has declared the labourer as mark of proud for the whole nation.

In a statement released on International Labour Day, he recognized the role of labour community in country’s progress and development, considering it indispensable. 

“The country’s economic and financial growth is directly linked with the satisfaction of daily wagers and the labour class. The society cannot be called sophisticated without giving the complete rights of the hard workers,” the Minister remarked, adding that the whole nation was proud of hard working people. 

“Our Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH) has taught us to give respect and complete pay to the labour before his sweat gets dry. We have a clear guideline through which we can achieve the higher benefits,” he said while emphasizing about the importance of the labour in Islam.

Nasir Hussain Shah stated that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) believed in giving the complete rights to the labourer. “Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was the first leader who raised the voice for labour class. The PPP’s manifesto clearly defines the mission to struggle for the rights of labouer and daily wagers,” he said.