As the toll of the those tested positive for deadly COVID-19 reached 35 on Sunday, the Corona virus continues to take on the nerves of administration and the masses alike in Peshawar as all the public places have either been closed or wearing deserted look with life coming to almost standstill in the city.
Besides, Out-patient department (OPD) in the provincial capital’s major hospital has also been closed down though High Dependency Units have been established in twenty-six hospitals of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in wake of coronavirus outbreak.
The Adviser to Chief Minister on Information Ajmal Khan Wazir told media in Peshawar on Sunday a task force under chairmanship of Chief Minister was closely monitoring the situation of coronavirus in the province.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has decided to shut all outpatient departments (OPDs) in the province’s largest public sector health facility – Lady Reading Hospital from today (Monday) fearing that coronavirus could either infect patients or their attendants.
The hospital spokesperson confirmed that there would be no OPDs from Monday in the hospital, apparently due to fear of transmission of the coronavirus.
He, however, said their emergency services would remain open round-the-clock.
An extraordinary situation developed in the provincial capital on Saturday after wedding halls like other public places were closed down to prevent spread of coronavirus.
Those scheduled to celebrate weddings there were left in a quandary as the order to shut-down the wedding halls was sudden.
“The district administration of Peshawar and other districts on Saturday started action on the directives of the provincial government, closing down over 90 hostels, educational institutions, cinemas, public places and wedding halls,” Abid Majeed, the secretary of the Rehabilitation, Relief and Settlement Department said.
As many as 26 hostels across Peshawar as well as 32 educational institutions that had not announced vacations despite directives by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government were closed on Saturday. Tens of thousands of students were seen waiting at bus and coaches stands as they tried to find seats in passenger vehicles for their hometowns after announcement of vacations to stop the spread of the virus.
In fact across the provincial capital and other districts, the wedding halls were closed and their management was directed not to host any kind of function amid fear of Corona virus spread. Venues closed down as per district administration’s orders even as numerous marriages were scheduled and many wedding-goers were turned away and told to return to their homes.
An eerie silence blanketed the city as people remained confined to their homes and opted to only venture out for necessities, including food and medicines, and the otherwise joyous wedding season just dried up. All the educational institutions both government and private including universities have already been closed.
The PIA authorities Sunday said advanced machinery has been installed at Bacha Khan International Airport including scanners for the screening of outgoing and incoming passengers.
