LAHORE: Expressing concern over, what he calls, lack of official strategy to counter the threat of coronavirus spread, Opposition Leader in the National Assembly Shahbaz Sharif has demanded convening of a meeting of the Council of Common Interests (CCI).

“It’s a matter of concern that the government has not yet framed any strategy for countering Corona threats while it’s need of the hour that all stakeholders should sit together to decide and play their respective roles in the wake of the situation,” he said in a statement issued from London on Friday.

He demanded that the CCI meeting be called urgently for a nationwide unified anti-coronavirus policy.

He suggested launching of a campaign for safety of citizens and ensuring provision of a sufficient quantity of masks in the market. He urged pharmaceutical companies to show spirit in the provision of low-priced masks and medicines needed to avoid catching the virus.

He warned the government that any delay in taking the needed steps, particularly with schoolchildren, could warrant grave results, as the authorities were already failing in handling polio and dengue.

Meanwhile, PML-N Punjab Information Secretary Azma Bukhari has demanded summoning of an all-party conference on coronavirus.

A resolution she submitted with the Punjab Assembly secretariat expressed concern at the emergence of the virus in the country which, it stated, exposed claims of PM’s Special Assistant Dr Zafar Mirza about taking steps to check the entry of the virus into the country.

Published in Dawn, February 29th, 2020