ISLAMABAD, APR 1 – Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, the special assistant to the PM for information and broadcasting, has said the National Disaster Management Authority has bought 1,700 ventilators for coronavirus patients.

These ventilators, she said, will be brought to Pakistan very soon.

So far, four shipments of medical supplies have arrived from China, which was once the epicentre of COVID-19 but has now contained the outbreak.

Dr Awan lauded China for playing an instrumental role in facilitating Pakistan’s efforts to control the virus.

She said China has donated 37 ventilators, while the NDMA has booked and paid for 1,700 more.

“The NDMA will set an initial target of purchasing 2,000 ventilators,” she said. “If the situation worsens, the benchmark can be risen to 10,000.”

When asked whether the Centre was on the same page as the Sindh government, she said Prime Minister Imran Khan was against the lockdown because of its impact on daily wage workers.

“The prime minister wished that a financial plan was devised for labourers before thinking of imposing a lockdown,” said Dr Awan.

As of Wednesday, more than 2,000 cases of the coronavirus have been reported across the country.