Govt redirects $40m non-utilised WB funds to fight coronavirus.

The federal government on Friday redirected $40 million non-utilised funds from World Bank projects that can be used by the federal and provincial government to battle the coronavirus, announced Minister for Economic Affairs Hammad Azhar.

According to the breakdown shared by the minister, Punjab has $7.5 million, Sindh has $10 million, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has 7 million, Balochistan has 2 million, while the federal government has $13.5 million.

Azhar also clarified that the funds allocation between provinces was not determined by the federal government. He added that the funds was a simple 'reallocation of non utilised funds going back into the same provinces where they were lying unused earlier.'

The minister said that release of funds is a part of $600 million package being arranged to fight the coronavirus in the country.

The number of COVID-19 cases in Pakistan shot up to 467 on Friday, after new cases were reported in Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan. The third death from the virus was also confirmed, in the province of Sindh. Two days earlier, Pakistan's first two deaths were recorded in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa: a 36-year-old and a 50-year-old.

Globally, 176 countries have been affected, more than 10,000 people have died and more than 245,000 infected by the disease as it spreads rapidly to new territories. The epicentre of the outbreak has now shifted to Europe, which is recording a rapid rise in new cases every day.

On Thursday, Azhar had...