Staff Reporter
Lahore
Punjab government imposed a ‘smart lockdown’ in the province, effective from midnight Monday till August 5, in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus during Eidul Azha.
The step comes as Punjab reported zero deaths for the first time in two months. The official daily tally of confirmed Covid-19 cases in the province has remained below 500 over the last one week. According to a notification issued by the Punjab Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department, all educational and training institutes, marriage halls, business centres, expo halls, restaurants, theme/amusement parks, play areas and arcades, beauty parlours and spas, cinemas and theatres will remain closed.
“There shall be a complete ban on sporting tournaments/matches (indoor and outdoor) except non-contact professional sports without spectators. All contact sports and indoor sports clubs/facilities shall remain closed.” The notification added that there will also be a complete ban on gatherings of all kinds for social, religious or any other purpose at any place, public or private.
“All retail shops, markets, shopping malls and plazas shall remain closed,” the notification said. However, exceptions were made for some, including pharmacies, postal services, petrol pumps and takeaway/home delivery for restaurants, which will be allowed to operate for 24 hours.
Meanwhile, the confirmed corona cases jumped to 274, 802 in Pakistan on Monday and tally of deaths reached 5,853. Punjab has reported 172 new cases of the novel coronavirus in the past 24 hours, the government’s Covid-19 portal said. No death was reported in the province. This is the first time the province has recorded zero deaths since May 26.
Sindh CM Murad Ali Shah has said 513 coronavirus cases and 11 deaths have been reported in the province during the past 24 hours. Balochistan has reported 23 coronavirus cases during the past 24 hours. With the new cases, the provincial tally has risen to 11,601. However, no new deaths have been reported since July 22 and the death toll remains 136.
