Punjab cities: Complete lockdown with over 12pc positivity rate from April 1

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar on Monday announced that the provincial government will not impose any restrictions on economic activities but lockdown will be imposed in districts with a Covid-19 positivity rate of more than 12 percent from April 1 to 11, to curb the spread of the disease.

There will be a complete ban on wedding events and other gatherings in the province and it was also decided to close down the mass transit transport system which includes the Orange Line Metro Train and the Speedo bus service.

The Punjab’s districts with a corona positivity rate higher than 12pc, as of March 28, included: Lahore (17pc), Faisalabad (15pc), Rawalpindi (15pc), Multan (12pc), Sargodha (12pc) and Sialkot (12pc).

“The lockdown will be reviewed by the cabinet committee on Covid-19 after seven days,” the CM said while talking to media.

Sardar Usman Buzdar said: “The construction, transport, goods and industrial sectors will continue to operate as per regular according to standard operating procedures (SOPs). There will be also a complete ban on indoor and outdoor dining at all restaurants and hotels.”

“Takeaway and home delivery will be allowed,” he added.

“Parks will be closed. Commercial timings for bazaars and markets will be till 6pm, while shops will remain closed two days of the week,” he said.

He warned that the situation could worsen if SOPs are not implemented.

“You will protect yourself and your family members by wearing face masks,” he said, adding: “As many as 22 labs were functioning in Punjab where more than 15,000 Covid-19 tests were carried out daily.”

The CM told media that about 125 vaccination centres have been set up in the province so far where 454,000 vaccine doses have arrived and 121,527 health workers have been administered the first dose. About 54,885 health workers had also received their second vaccine dose, while 151,447 people over the age of 60 had been inoculated, he added.

Terming the third wave as more dangerous, the CM said that the current wave was more dangerous than the first and the second.

“Compared to the first two phases, the third phase is much more intense. Lahore, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Rawalpindi, Sargodha, Faisalabad and Multan have more positive cases,” he said.

“Because of the third wave, hospitals are rapidly filling up and the health system is under pressure,” he added.

Talking to provincial Minister for Housing Mian Mahmood-ul-Rasheed at Governor House, Governor Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar said that those who are not following SOPs are welcoming corona.

He said that not wearing masks and neglecting SOPs would accelerate corona resurgence.

Both urged the public to follow the SOPs in order to protect themselves and their loved ones from coronavirus.

The governor said that unfortunately due to negligence in following SOPs, corona is resurging adding that the whole world is grappling with this challenge right now.

He warned that the whole country will have to face severe repercussions if the public continues to be negligent in the compliance of coronavirus SOPs. Therefore, all the SOPs issued by the government should be followed strictly as Pakistan cannot afford to impose a complete lockdown, he added.

On the other hand, out of 15,780 tests conducted across the province of Punjab, as many as 2,309 fresh virus cases and 17 deaths were reported during the last 24 hours taking the provincial tally of cases to 215,227 and death toll to 6,244.

With the recovery of 1,580 more people from the virus, the number of recovered patients has reached to 185,877 in the province.

As per break up of cases and deaths due to corona in major cities of the province, Lahore has so far reported 113,857 cases and 2,551 deaths, Rawalpindi 17,658 cases and 994 deaths, Faisalabad 12,850 cases and 603 deaths, Gujranwala 5,824 cases and 171 deaths, Sargodha 3,101 cases and 161 deaths, Gujrat 5,800 cases and 93 deaths, Sheikhupura 2,158 cases and 57 deaths, Bahawalpur 4,678 cases and 157 deaths and Sialkot reported 5,079 cases and 186 fatalities.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021