Covid-19: Pakistan begins lockdowns; Lahore epicentre

Pakistan on Monday started imposing micro-smart lockdowns (strictly restricted movement) in various cities of Punjab to rein in the spread of Covid-19 pandemic, said Dr Yasmin Rashid, Health Minister in Punjab.

She warned that the Covid-19 positivity rate has been consistently on the rise and witnessed 12 per cent increase.

Also read: ovid-19: Pakistan PM Imran Khan urges people to vaccinate

“Punjab government has issued new SOPs for public places, bazaars and other activities that involved gatherings,” she said while speaking to a private news channel.

She said Punjab government has done satisfactory arrangements to deal with third wave of Coronavirus, adding, the district administration had started a crackdown on violations of SOPs (standard operating procedures).

Lahore epicentre

Dr Yasmin Rashid also said that Lahore was becoming epicentre of the novel coronavirus, as 1,824 new cases have been reported.

She assured that there’s no need to panic because the government has enough facilities to manage the increasing infections.

She said National Command Operation Center’s (NCOC) daily meetings have been called to cope with the spike in cases to place more beds in hospitals.

Also read: Covid-19: Imran Khan, wife comfortable with mild symptoms

“If people make wearing masks their habit, we can reduce the spread by up to 50% to 70%. All provinces are under pressure presently, but Punjab is under the most constraint because of its massive population and testing was also increased,” she added.

She asked the people aged above 70 to vaccinate themselves without any delay and people under 60 to 70 should get their pin code and comes to their nearest vaccination centres.

-waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com