(Karachi) Amid a drastic rise in COVID-19 cases, the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has asked the provincial governments to prepare for a two-week lockdown in 20 cities at the beginning of next month.

As per details, the coronavirus monitoring body has written letters to the provincial authorities where the coronavirus situation is extremely bad and the restrictions imposed by the authorities have failed to stem the virus spread.

In the letter, the authorities directed that a two-week city-wise lockdown in affected districts is cautiously planned and provinces need to carry out necessary planning at the earliest.

The cities and districts where the lockdown has been planned include Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Bahawalpur, Hyderabad, Peshawar, Dir Lower, Mardan, Nowshera, Malakand, Charsadda, Swat, Swabi, Muzaffarabad, Sudhnuti, Poonch and Bagh.

Earlier today, Pakistan reported the highest number of deaths from coronavirus in a single day since the outbreak of the virus in the country.

During the past 24 hours, 201 people succumbed to the virus, taking the national death toll to 17,530. 49,101 people were tested across the country in 24 hours, taking the total number of people tested to 11,682,014.

On April 27, the government canceled all examinations, including O/A level exams till June 15 in wake of the worsening coronavirus situation across the country.

Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood said that all and A-level examinations have been canceled amid rising in coronavirus cases in the country. He added that all the students will give the exams in October and November.

Similarly, he maintained the government also decided that exams for classes 9 to 12 will not be held till June 2021. He stated that the government will review the situation in the third week of May and take decisions accordingly.