COVID-19: Pak to resume domestic flights from Saturday

Pakistan will resume domestic flights in a phased manner from Saturday after the government eased some of the restrictions imposed following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country that has claimed the lives of over 800 people.

The Pakistan government last week said that it would begin a phased lifting of the lockdown due to its effect on the economy and the workforce.

Pakistan Civil Aviation Authority (PCAA) announced to resume the domestic flights operations from Saturday, The Express Tribune reported.

Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and Serene Air will operate flights in the morning and afternoon.

It said that 68 flights will operate from Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, 32 from Allama Iqbal International Airport in Lahore, 32 from Islamabad International Airport, eight from Quetta International Airport and four from Bacha Khan International Airport in Peshawar.

According to the Ministry of National Health Services, the nationwide tally of the coronavirus cases on Friday soared to 37,218 after 1,430 new cases were reported.

A total of 10,155 patients have so far recovered from the virus. The total number of COVID-19 deaths in the country also reached 803 with 33 new fatalities reported during the last 24 hours.

Punjab province reported 13,914 cases, Sindh 14,099, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa 5,423, Balochistan 2,310, Islamabad 866, Gilgit-Baltistan 501 and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir 105.

So far, 344,450 tests have been conducted, including 13,700 during the last 24 hours.

After easing the restrictions for the last four days, the Punjab government on Friday imposed a three-day lockdown throughout the province.

All markets across the province will remain closed except the grocery stores which will remain open from 9am to 5pm. Medical stores will operate even after 5pm.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Imran Khan joined a call by world leaders for a "peoples' vaccine" to combat the coronavirus.

"We must work together to beat this virus," the Prime Minister's Office quoted Khan as saying.