LAHORE: Punjab health department has warned of a second wave of coronavirus in the province due to the flouting of standard operating procedures (SOPs) by the masses.
The warning was issued by Punjab Health Secretary Mohammad Usman to the divisional commissioners and regional police officers (RPOs).
The health secretary informed that the people have stopped taking precautions after the government lifted the lockdown on August 10. “It has been witnessed that no SOPs have been followed at business centres and other public places across the province,” he added.
Mohammad Usman expressed regret over the lack of implementation on the SOPs and urged the concerned authorities to ensure that people wear face masks and maintain a safe social distance.
The provincial government imposed a lockdown at the end of March. It was lifted after the centre allowed the resumption of businesses from August 10.
Meanwhile, Pakistan has witnessed a sharp decline in the coronavirus infections after the month of June this year. In this regard, the federal government announced easing in restrictions on movement by the government nationwide.
Almost nine more people died due to coronavirus in past 24 hours, pushing the death toll from the disease in the country to 6,162. The number of active coronavirus cases has dropped to 16,261 as 265,624 patients have recuperated.
Thus far, 125,632 cases have been detected in Sindh, 95,203 in Punjab, 35,091 in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, 12,144 in Balochistan, 15,346 in Islamabad, 2,179 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 2,452 in Gilgit-Baltistan.