Punjab govt to impose smart lockdown on Eid-ul-Azha

LAHORE: The Punjab government has decided to impose a smart lockdown in the COVID-19 hot spots in different cities of the province on the occasion of Eidul Azha.

According to sources, the decision was taken in a meeting chaired by Punjab Chief Secretary Jawad Rafique to review the steps against the coronavirus epidemic ahead of Eidul Azha.

Shops of essential commodities will remain open in the areas for the convenience of the masses. However, the cities will face restrictions on movement under smart lockdown strategy.

The meeting also discussed the COVID-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs) in cattle markets. The meeting agreed that the Deputy Commissioners will decide to extend working hours for cattle markets in different cities across Punjab.

The Punjab government had earlier imposed a smart lockdown on COVID-19 hotspots in four cities of the province.

According to a notification issued by the primary and secondary healthcare department secretary, ‘Smart lockdown’ was imposed in different areas of Sialkot, Wah Cantt, Gujrat and Gujranwala.

On July 10, smart lockdown had been enforced in COVID-19 hotspots identified in seven cities of the Punjab province after the strategy had yielded positive results in tackling virus spread in the province.

It is pertinent to mention here continuing with its downward trajectory, Pakistan had reported a total of 1,226 fresh cases of COVID-19 during the last 24 hours raising the total number of cases in the country to 273,113.

Moreover, 35 more patients succumbed to the virus, whereas 838 recoveries were reported. The total number of deaths in the country stands at 5,822, and recoveries at 237,434.

Several patients have recovered from the disease in the last 24 hours taking the total number of recoveries to 237,434.

More than 1,226 cases of coronavirus were reported while 35 people succumbed to the disease in the last 24 hours. The number of active cases in-country is above 75,100. As per NCOC, around 28,202 tests were conducted in the last 24 hours taking the total number to 297,092.

The total number of infections in Punjab stands at 91,901, Sindh 117,591, 33,220 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 11,578 in Balochistan, 14,848 in Islamabad, 2,023 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 1,952 in Gilgit Baltistan.

Out of a total of 5,822 deaths, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has reported 1,176 deaths, Sindh 2,135, Balochistan 136, Gilgit-Baltistan 47, Punjab 2,116, Azad Kashmir 49, and Islamabad Capital Territory has reported 163 deaths.

The recoveries in Punjab stand at 81,250, Sindh 104,019, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 27,017, Islamabad 12,253, Balochistan 9,901, Gilgit-Baltistan 1,559, and Azad Jammu Kashmir 1,435.

Novel coronavirus cases in the country have continued to decline in the past three weeks, a development the government of Prime Minister Imran Khan dubbed as the result of its successful anti-COVID-19 strategy.