The Government of Punjab has allowed wedding halls and restaurants with outdoor dining to remain open after 10pm.

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the provincial government had allowed the owners of hotels, restaurants and wedding halls to close their places at 10pm. However, now they have been allowed to remain open after 10pm. According to a notification issued by the provincial health department, any event can be arranged for up to 300 people in open spaces following coronavirus SOPs.

However, the ban on indoor events will remain in place. The public parks will close at 6pm, the notification said. During the last 24 hours, Punjab recorded 443 coronavirus cases and 11 deaths. The provincial tally has reached 157,796 while the death toll is 4,747.

In the past 24 hours, Pakistan reported 1,615 new cases of coronavirus and 26 deaths. The country has so far recorded 546,428 cases and 11,683 deaths. The country also reported 1,278 more recoveries, taking the total number to 501,252.

Meanwhile, the first batch of 500,000 doses of the Sinopharm vaccine from China has arrived in Pakistan. The vaccination drive will begin in Pakistan this week, starting with frontline health workers.