Covid-19: US, ADB, World Bank extend aid to help Pakistan fight coronavirus

The US on Thursday (local time) announced an initial aid of $1 million to Pakistan in order to help the country in combating coronavirus outbreak.

"The U.S.-Pakistan government partnership is helping fight #COVID19. The U.S. government is responding to #COVID-19 in #Pakistan with initial $1 million in @USAID_Pakistan funding to bolster monitoring & rapid response," Alice Wells, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary said in a tweet.

"And the U.S. and #Pakistan are longstanding partners in tackling global health challenges. There are 100+ recent Pakistani graduates of @CDCgov's epidemiology lab training on the ground investigating #COVID19 cases in #GilgitBaltistan & #Punjab right now," Wells said in another tweet.
 

The Asian Develo­pment Bank (ADB) and the World Bank have committed to providing $588 million to Pakistan for its emergency response to fight the coronavirus in the country and cater to the socio-economic impact of the pandemic.

This was announced by the Planning Commission after a meeting with country representatives of the two lending agencies on Pakistan's preparedness and response to fight COVID-19, Dawn news said in a report on Thursday.

According to an official statement, the World Bank would provide $238 million and the ADB $350 million to Pakistan in support for the COVID-19 emergency response and to address the socio-economic disruption associated with it.
 

The meeting also approved in principle a project concept "Pakistan National Emergency Preparedness and Response Plan for COVID-19".

Number of cases on the rise

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Pakistan have increased to 454 after Balochistan, Punjab, Sindh, Gilgit-Baltistan and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa announced an increase in their provincial tallies.

On Thursday, Balochistan Chief Minister Jam Kamal Khan confirmed 60 fresh cases of the contagious disease in the province, pushing the total tally to 76. Later, the provincial Health Ministry increased the number to 81, reports The Express Tribune.

Due to the increase, the Balochistan government has imposed a ban on the public transport and declared the health emergency across the province to contain the deadly epidemic.
 

Meanwhile, Punjab province has reported 78 cases, including 14 in Lahore.

Sindh is the worst-hit province with a total of 245 cases, including 93 in Karachi.

Pakistan has also reported two deaths, both in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The two patients died within hours of each other.