Pindi traders finally comply with lockdown

Three areas identified as Covid-19 hotspots were sealed

RAWALPINDI:

Traders of the garrison city finally accepted the provincial government’s decision to impose a lockdown in commercial areas ahead of Eidul Azha to prevent the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) disease from spreading.

The compliance came on a day when the district administration sealed three areas which were deemed as virus hotspots.

On the fourth day of the lockdown, all large and small shopping malls, business centres, markets, and shops remained closed in Rawalpindi.

However, some leaders of the business community explained the closure to The Express Tribune as shopkeepers and traders going to buy sacrificial animals or have left for their hometowns, rather than complying with the Punjab government’s orders to shut down their businesses.

Meanwhile, the businesses which were allowed to stay open included grocery stores, pharmacies, and fruit and vegetable shops.

Amusement parks, cinemas, theatres, and wedding halls including educational institutions remained closed as part of social distancing directives.

Areas sealed

Meanwhile, the Rawalpindi district administration has sealed three hotspots where a cluster of Covid-19 patients was reported. These areas include Sarai Kala, along with wards three and eight of the Wah Cantonment.

Police have set up pickets at the entry and exit points to these hot spots to control the movement of suspected Covid-19 patients.

Shopping malls and business centres were also shut in these areas, while a strict ban was also implemented on the flow of public and private vehicles.

Only one person was allowed to travel in a vehicle to buy groceries, while general stores, fruit, vegetable, and dairy shops were allowed to stay open till 7pm, hospitals, medical stores, laboratories were permitted to remain open around the clock.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 1^st, 2020.