Govt considering to toughen lockdown after spike in COVID-19 cases

(Karachi) In wake of increasing number of coronavirus cases, the government is considering to toughen lockdown restrictions across the country, media reported on Wednesday.

As per details, a meeting of cabinet members was held under the chair of Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad. During the meeting, the PM expressed concern over increasing coronavirus cases and public's failure to follow standard operating procedures (SOPs).

The meeting considered to take strict action against those not following guidelines and violating the SOPs. However, a final decision in this regard will be taken after taking all provinces and stakeholders into confidence.

Pakistan has been facing an alarming rise in COVID-19 cases which has claimed several lives, including doctors, politicians, celebrities etc.

At least 67 deaths have been reported while 4,131 new coronavirus cases surfaced across the country during the last 24 hours. The total number of coronavirus patients has reached 80,463.

On Wednesday, the highest number of cases were reported in Sindh with 31,086 cases. Punjab reported 29,489 cases while 10,897 corona cases were detected in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Similarly, 4,740 corona cases surfaced in Balochistan, 3,188 in Islamabad, 779 in Gilgit-Baltistan and 284 in Azad Kashmir.

Till date, 28,923 patients recovered from the virus while the death toll stands at 1,688.