ISLAMABAD: The National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) may think about imposing a smart lockdown at the Covid-19 hotspots in the capital city, said Federal Interior Minister Sheikh Rasheed on Saturday.

However, the minister said, he did not state that the government will impose a complete lockdown from Monday.

District Health Officer (DHO) Islamabad Dr Zaeem Zia told Business Recorder that on Saturday 747 cases were reported with a positivity rate of 12.5 percent in the capital.

We have recommended the government to impose strict restriction in order to control the spread of the virus in the city, he said.

According to the official data, out of 50,843 patients, 45,161 have recovered so far, and 539 have died. The total number of cases reported on March 19 was 620, on March 18, 538, on March 17, 443, on March 16, 414, on March 15, 371, on March 14, 345, on March 13, 402, on March 12, 384, on March 11, 350, and on March 10, 253.

Following notification issued by the ICT administration, majority of the shops in the major markets of both the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi including Aabpara, Karachi Company, Peshawar Mor, F-6, and F-7, I-8, G-10 Markaz, Commercial Market, Raja Bazaar, Pindora as well as several other smaller markets remained close.

Shops including medical stores/pharmacies, bakeries, meat, milk, and grocery stores remained open.

Meanwhile, various teams of the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration visited various markets to ensure compliance of standard operating procedures (SOPs) devised for controlling the pandemic spread.

The administration also closed the Faisal Mosque for general public but prayers will continue at a limited scale as per the SOPs.

The administration has also taken action against owners of shops as well as school managements for violating Covid-19 SOPs.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2021