ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Railways Sheikh Rasheed Tuesday said Pakistan Railways may resume its train service from April 25. Talking to media after visiting a quarantine centre established at Rawalpindi Institute of Urology (RIU), he said Pakistan Railways may run limited trains by maintaining social distancing among the passengers and keeping them in isolation from April 25 to May 1. He said a unanimous strategy was required under the current circumstances, adding that provision of relief to people affected by lockdown in the wake of coronavirus pandemic is government’s top priority.

“We have six ventilators here,” Sheikh Rashid said while responding to a question about the facilities being extended to the patients suffering from deadly virus at the quarantine centre. “Over Rs 50.1 million have been donated by the Railways employees to the coronavirus fund,” he said, to another question. He also urged Sindh government to release the violators of Section 144.

Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar, meanwhile, said the strategy of smart lockdown or testing, tracking and quarantining (TTQ) will be implemented across the country within a few days in consensus with all the provinces, Azad Jammu and Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan, to contain spread of coronavirus as well as to allow selected sectors to open their businesses.He said last week the government had made a plan about it and decided to have a pilot test. The pilot test was conducted in various selected areas of the country which remained successful. In the pilot test, he said the tracking system was made and health teams reached out the target patients and all those people with whom the corona patient had met during last few days. All such people were tested and then kept isolated or hospitalized if needed, he added. Umar said the results of those pilot tests were received on Monday and discussed in the meeting of National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) on Tuesday. Under this programme, he informed that every district, tehsil and union council will be approached for testing.

“A consensus among provinces and the federal government has been developed as all the chief ministers have accorded approval to the new system which will be scaled up and implemented within 5-6 days,” he said at a press briefing