Govt issues post-lockdown guidelines

Transporters, construction industry told to ensure safety of passengers, workers

ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Thursday issued more guidelines that citizens and industries needed to follow to protect themselves against Covid-19 after the lockdown imposed to stem the spread of the disease comes to an end on May 9.

Citizens have been asked to travel in cars, buses or other vehicles only in a case of extreme emergency and take precautionary measures while travelling.

They should wear a mask and wash their hands or use a hand sanitiser before sitting in a vehicle, use a tissue paper to cover their mouth and nose while coughing or sneezing and discard it properly.

If a tissue paper is not available, they should use their hand or arm to cover their face.



Citizens have also been advised to avoid touching their eyes, nose and mouth without washing their hands or using a hand sanitiser, refrain from shaking hands and not interact with others unnecessarily.

Transporters have been directed to disinfect their vehicles before picking up and after dropping their passengers.

They have been asked not to switch on air conditioners in their vehicles, keep windows open for fresh air to pass through and ensure that passengers maintained a distance of six feet from each other.

Transporters have been further advised to ensure thermal scanning, use masks and gloves while driving and confirm the availability of tissue paper and hand sanitiser in buses.

People with a cough or fever or some other illness have been requested to stay home.

The government has also prescribed precautionary measures for the construction sector.



The industry has been directed to keep the biometric attendance suspended, ensure the availability of thermal guns and sanitisers at entry and exit points of construction sites, disinfect the working area, ensure minimum contact between workers and consumers through virtual communication and maintain a distance of two metres.

The industry has also been advised to substitute or ensure additional shifts to avoid crowding of workers, not extend a shift for more than eight hours, disinfect the clothes of everyone on site, provide good quality masks and gloves to employees and ensure their means of transportation.

It has been suggested that a sick person should not be called for work, while an isolation facility or temporary residence should be established for workers who display coronavirus symptoms so that they could be kept in quarantine until their test results were received.