SBP directs banks to open branches on Saturdays

KARACHI: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has allowed banks to open a limited number of bank branches across the country on Saturdays. 

According to a notification issued by SBP, bank branches operating at business centers and ports will be allowed to remain open on Saturdays as COVID-19 cases continue to decline across the country.

Earlier, the SBP had ordered all banks to remain closed on Saturdays owing to a rise in COVID-19 cases across the country.

However, as cases of the virus have declined and normal business, trade and educational activities resumed across the country this month, the SBP has allowed banks to open their selected branches on Saturdays.

All branches that open on Saturdays will have to abide by the COVID-19 safety protocols and health guidelines issued by the SBP. 

According to the government, the graph of coronavirus cases in Pakistan is constantly coming down but the threat is not over yet. One 153 deaths were reported in June but the graph has been falling sharply. 

The coronavirus has claimed six more lives in Pakistan and brought the total number of deaths from the virus to 6,389.

According to the latest figures released by the National Command and Operations Center, 404 new cases of coronavirus have been reported in the country, bringing the total number to 302,424.

In Pakistan, 290,261 coronavirus victims have recovered and the number of active cases has come down to 5,774. In the last 24 hours, 27,277 tests have been done on the virus and a total of 2,995,890 tests have been done on coronavirus across the country.

The number of coronavirus cases in Sindh has reached 132,250, 97,817 cases have been reported in Punjab, 37,089 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 13,621 in Balochistan, 15,962 in Islamabad, 2,426 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and 3,269 in Gilgit-Baltistan.