Islamabad, March 28 Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan said that his government has decided to set up a "Corona Tigers Relief Force" which would enlist youth volunteers from across the country to help deal with coronavirus relief efforts.
"We have a large youth population in our country which is our asset; we need youngsters in the fight against coronavirus," Dawn news quoted the premier as saying to the media here on Friday.
Khan added that registrations for the relief force would begin from March 31.
"It is important to understand that when China enforced a lockdown, it delivered food to people's homes. We did not have any such infrastructure... For this we are setting up the special youth force, we will deliver food and other necessities to people through them."
The premier added that although coronavirus had not spread as widely in Pakistan as in some western countries, there was "no guarantee" that cases would not rise sharply in the country in coming weeks.
He said that the government was preparing for the "worst-case scenario".
Khan's announcement comes as Pakistan recorded the biggest single-day jump in the number of confirmed coronavirus cases.
The country has registered 1,363 cases with 11 deaths. Punjab province has topped Sindh with the maximum number of infections at 490.
( With inputs from IANS )