Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said that people should learn living with COVID-19 by taking precautionary measures to avoid contracting it till its vaccine is made.

In a televised address after chairing a meeting of the National Coordination Committee held to review the COVID-19 impact on the country, Khan said on Monday that a surge in the number of cases was being witnessed in the country, and people should take preventive measures and follow standard operating procedures formed by the government to reduce burden on the country's healthcare system, reports Xinhua news agency.

He said that his government has taken the decision to ease the lockdown as the country's economy cannot bear further loss due to suspension in businesses in the country, and the government itself is in no position to give away cash support to the poor labourers and jobless people anymore.

"Even if we keep people under a lockdown, there's no guarantee that the virus will not spread again when the lockdown is lifted," the Prime Minister said, adding that the government has provided a large amount of subsidy after the pandemic.

He said that Pakistan's economic condition is not very good, and it has a large number of poor people and imposing lockdown is just like depriving them of bread and butter, so the people should be cautious to protect themselves from contracting the disease.

He said that the country's revenue has witnessed a decline apart from a significant drop in exports, adding that they also fear that remittances will witness a drop due to the pandemic across the world.

Khan also mentioned that the government had prepared a negative list of sectors where there are mass gatherings to remain closed for indefinite period while other sectors considered safe have been opened (IANS)