Punjab to tighten Covid-19 restrictions from April 1

The provincial government of Punjab on Monday announced multiple smart lockdowns across various provincial districts where the positivity ratio of Covid-19 is 12pc or higher.

The lockdowns will be in effect from April 1 to April 11.

Chief Minister Usman Buzdar announced the decision while addressing a press conference after a meeting with the cabinet committee on coronavirus. Decisions would be reviewed by the committee after seven days, he added.

“There will be a ban on indoor, outdoor wedding ceremonies and other events,” he said, adding that only takeaways and home deliveries would be allowed from restaurants.

Furthermore, the provincial government also announced a ban on religious, political, cultural and sports gatherings. In another measure, the chief minister announced that the vehicle of the driver, who is not wearing a mask, would also be confiscated.

“Shops will remain open till 6pm while shops will remain closed two days of the week whereas heavy fines would be imposed on those caught violating the SOPs,” Buzdar warned.

Read more: Indoor, outdoor gatherings banned with immediate effect: NCOC

However, the chief minister added that there would be no ban on economic activities of construction, transport, goods and industrial sectors as per SOPs.

Buzdar further said the provincial mass transit system, such as the Orange Line Metro train and Speedo bus service would be shut down to mitigate the spread of the virus through public transport facilities.

“Private transport would not be closed yet but the decision would be reviewed,” the chief minister added.

He also said that the third wave of the pandemic was more dangerous than the first and second waves as, during the last 24 hours, the positivity ratio of Covid-19 in the province had reached 14 per cent while in the provincial capital of Lahore it is 21 per cent.

“The health care system is coming under pressure with hospitals filling-up quickly in the third wave,” he added.

On March 28, it was reported that the NCOC announced a blanket ban on all indoor and outdoor gatherings from next month to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, as the third wave of the contagion raged across the country.

This decision was taken in a meeting of the NCOC held in Islamabad. Planning Minister Asad Umar chaired the meeting, which was also attended by all the provincial chief secretaries.

The meeting expressed grave concern over the rapid spread of the pandemic. It was decided that there would be a complete ban on marriage ceremonies – both indoor and outdoor – from April 5. However, the provinces could implement restrictions in the early time frame as per the situation on the ground.

According to the decisions, the ban would also apply to all sorts of events such as social, cultural, political, sports and other meets, while the forum would provide updated hotspot maps to the provinces for enforcement of expanded lockdowns from March 29.