Linux Shout published a tutorial showing you how to fix the "Unable to parse package file /var/lib/dpkg/status" error.

Fix error: Unable to parse package file /var/lib/dpkg/status

Unable to parse package file /var/lib/dpkg/status (1): Package lists or status file could not be parsed or opened.W: _cache->open() failed

Fix error: Unable to parse package file /var/lib/dpkg/status