NSC meeting to decide fate of lockdown: Yasmeen

Provincial Health Minister Dr Yasmeen Rashid said on Sunday that the final decision on extending the lockdown will be made in the upcoming meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) and no respite will be allowed to areas having more coronavirus cases.

The minister said that areas around GT Road are reporting more cases and the cities currently under special focus are Lahore, Gujrat, Jehlum and Gujranawala and Rawalpindi. She added that they have, so far, tested over 36,000 people for the virus which is the highest in number in the South Asia.

"We are having a good recovery rate and over 300 patients have returned to their homes after recoveries. Some areas of Lahore have been completely sealed off due to emergences of more suspected cases."

Yasmeen continued that a majority of positive patients are coming from the dedicated quarantine centers for suspected patients. She said that adequate arrangements have been made for the treatment of the patients testing positive for the Covid-19.

"In the next stage, we will test people at fruit and vegetable markets. This is a war and we will have to fight this as a nation. People have to stop unnecessary movements and stay at homes to stop the transmission of the virus," added the minister.

Earlier in the day, reports were doing rounds that Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has directed the government departments to furnish proposals regarding extension in the lockdown since a large number of population is not showing self-restraint and violating section-144 which aggravating local transmission of the virus.

Sources said that many government departments have submitted their suggestions to the chief minister office and CM Buzdar is likely to take up this matter with Prime Minister Imran Khan in coming days.