COVID-19: Punjab govt extends lockdown for another 15 days

LAHORE: The provincial government of Punjab has decided to continue the smart lockdown for another 15 days keeping in view the rising number of COVID-19 cases in Punjab.

According to a notification issued by the Punjab government, all the public and private educational institutes, parks, cinemas, restaurants and marriage halls will remain closed by July 30 across the province.

The notification further said sports activities, political, social and religious gatherings will also be banned in the province till the end of this month.

On Monday, 449 new COVID-19 cases had been reported in Punjab over the past 24 hours, taking the provincial tally of infections to 87,492.

According to the health officials, 13 more people had died due to complications related to the highly contagious disease over the 24 hours, taking the death toll to 2,026.

At least 63,977 people had recovered from the virus in the province so far. The country had reported 1,979 COVID-19 cases and 50 deaths over the past 24 hours, taking the national tally of infections to 253,603 and fatalities to 5,320.

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases has surged to 253,604 in Pakistan, while the death toll stands at 5,320. According to the National Command and Control Center (NCOC), more than 1,979 cases of coronavirus were reported while 50 people succumbed to the disease in the last 24 hours.

As many as 170,656 patients have recovered from the disease, while the country is still witnessing a consistent rise in the COVID-19 cases.

As many as 8929 patients have recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours taking the total number of recoveries to 149,092. Around 23,255 tests were conducted in the past one day.