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March 29, 2020: National / International Current Affairs
1. Borders closure extended for two weeks
• Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Health Dr Zafar Mirza has said the tally of confirmed coronavirus cases on March 28, 2020 rose to 1,500 with 12 deaths across the country, giving Pakistan a 0.8 per cent mortality rate that is lower than many other parts of the world including some developed countries.
• However, the government announced that international departure of passenger planes would be decided on a case-to-case basis while extending the closure of borders and suspension of trade with India, Iran and Afghanistan for another fortnight due to the Covid-19 situation.
• The government also devised a standard operating procedure (SOP) for conducting free of cost tests, considering a limited number of testing kits were available in the country though a cargo plane carrying 600 kits from China arrived at the Karachi airport on Saturday.
2. Pak Army assisting civil administration to contain COVID-19 spread: ISPR
• Pakistan Army troops have been deployed across the country in aid of civil administration under article 245 of the constitution, Inter-Services Public Relations said in a statement on March 28, 2020.
• “Army troops are assisting federal and provincial administrations in ensuring enforcement measures for containment of COVID-19 with focus on public safety,” said ISPR while sharing details of troops’ deployment and other assistance operations.
• All the entry points are being manned and monitored and establishment. Joint check posts and joint patrolling with other law-enforcement agencies is also being carried out. Furthermore, contact tracking/tracing to identify and isolate suspected individuals is being done to ensure containment of COVID-19 spread
3. Punjab unveils Rs10bn relief package for daily wage earners
• Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar on March 28, 2020 announced a Rs10 billion relief package for financial support of 2.5 million families of daily wage earners in addition to the financial support packages announced by the federal government. Each family will be given Rs4,000 financial assistance.
• `The Punjab government is standing with the people who have lost their livelihoods in the wake of the coronavirus scourge,` he said.
• Announcing the relief package during a press conference at the Chief Minister`s Secretariat, he said the Punjab government had also decided to remove provincial taxes to the tune of Rs18bn as the nation was going through testing times in the wake of the threat from the virus
4. KP chief minister announces Rs32bn package
• Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Mahmood Khan on March 28, 2020 announced a relief package of Rs32 billion for the vulnerable segments of society in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
• He also hinted at giving special incentives to employees of different departments, including health and rescue workers, police personnel and others who are fighting against the pandemic on the frontline.
• In a statement, the chief minister said his government was seriously considering giving special incentives to such employees as a gesture of encouragement and support, adding that the provincial government highly valued the selfless services of those employees who were striving hard to save others while risking their own lives.
5. Chinese medical experts land in Pakistan on special flight
• A special Chinese flight carrying an eight-member team of medical experts and relief assistance landed March 28, 2020 at Islamabad International Airport to support Pakistan in its efforts to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Foreign Secretary Sohail Mahmood, Chairman of National Disaster Management Authority Lt. General Muhammad Afzal and Chinese Ambassador in Pakistan Yao Jing received the guests and thanked the government and people of China, on behalf of the government and people of Pakistan, for their timely support in this difficult time.
• China is extending full support to Pakistan in its efforts to contain the coronavirus. China’s assistance to Pakistan so far includes 12,000 test kits, 300,000 masks, 10,000 protective suits, and support to build an isolation hospital
6. US now has 105,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus
• The United States on March 28, 2020 became the first country in the world to have more than 100,000 cases of deadly viral disease known as coronavirus.
• As the rising infections alarmed Americans, Microsoft founder Bill Gates suggested shutting the entire country for 6-10 weeks to effectively fight the rapidly spreading virus.
• With more than 105,000 cases reported by Saturday afternoon, the United States has surpassed both Italy and China in infection counts. China, the worst hit since the viral breakout began in its Wuhan province in December 2019, is now third on the infection chart with 81,996 confirmed cases. Statistics provided by the Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center in Washington, however, showed that compared to other affected nations, fatalities in the United States remained relatively low 1,710.
7. US civil rights leader Lowery dies aged 98
• US civil rights leader Reverend Joseph Lowery who campaigned with Martin Luther King died on March 27, 2020 aged 98.
• Born in Huntsville, Alabama in 1921, Lowery worked closely alongside leading figures in the civil rights movement and with King co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) civil rights group in 1957.
• He was chosen to speak at the inauguration of the country`s first black president Barack Obama in 2009, and later that year was awarded the Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States.
8. Taliban rule out talks with new Afghan govt team
• The Taliban declined on March 28, 2020 to begin talks with the Afghan government`s new negotiating team in a setback to the US-brokered peace process for one of the world`s longest-running conflicts.
• Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said the militants could not talk to the 21-member team named on Thursday as it was not constituted taking into account all parties.
• The team is headed by Masoom Stanekzai, an ex-security chief and supporter of President Ashraf Ghani, and includes politicians, former officials and representatives of civil society. Five members are women.
9. US lab unveils portable 5-minute test
• A US-based lab has unveiled a portable test that can tell if someone has Covid-19 in as little as five minutes, it said in a statement on March 27, 2020.
• Abbott Laboratories said the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had given it emergency authorisation to begin making the test available to healthcare providers as early as next week.
• The test, which is the size of a small toaster and uses molecular technology, also shows negative results within 13 minutes, the company said in a statement.
• `The Covid-19 pandemic will be fought on multiple fronts, and a portable molecular test that offers results in minutes adds to the broad range of diagnostic solutions needed to combat this virus,` said Abbott president and chief operating officer Robert Ford
10. NASA reveals the first images of its all-electric X-57 Maxwell plane
• NASA has shared the first pictures showing its new all-electric X-57 Maxwell plane that will be quieter and up to 500 per cent more efficient than conventional aircraft.
• It will be the first manned X-plane produced by NASA in two decades and is designed to help develop standards for future all-electric aircraft.
• The X-57 Maxwell started life as a four-seater Tecnam P2006T conventional light aircraft that had its piston engines replaced with 12 electric motors. NASA says it has bespoke skinny wings that will boost efficiency by reducing drag in flight and has rechargeable lithium-ion batteries to provide power
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