QUETTA: Over 1.2 million families in Balochistan had been adversely affected due to lockdown imposed in the province to stop the spread of coronavirus, said a spokesperson for the Balochistan government at a press conference on Saturday.

According to him, if continues for another two months the lockdown may force thousands of families in the province to live below the poverty line.

“As the number of cases is increasing, we have decided to conduct 1,750 tests daily,” Liaquat Ali Shahwani said, adding that the total number of infected patients had now reached 359 in Balochistan, of which 229 patients were local transmissions.

Published in Dawn, April 19th, 2020