Punjab, K-P to expand Covid curbs as third wave aggravates

Smart lockdowns will be imposed in districts with more than 12% positivity ratio

ISLAMABAD/ LAHORE '/ PESHAWAR:

Coronavirus situation aggravated further on Monday, as the positivity ratio in a number of cities of Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa hit new highs, prompting the two provincial governments to take tough measures to stem the rising trend in the disease prevalence.

Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar announced smart lockdowns in districts where the positivity rate was more than 12% from April 1. Similarly authorities in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa issued directives to impose micro-smart lockdown in eight more areas.

The measures came as the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) registered more than 4,500 new Covid-19 cases and reported 41 fatalities, 38 of them in hospitals, including 12 on ventilators, during the last 24 hours.

The NCOC listed 26 districts of Punjab, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Islamabad Capital Territory where it said the positivity ratio was 8% or higher. The worst-affected districts were Swat, 23%; Peshawar, 22%; Nowshera, 19%, Lahore, 17% and Islamabad, 15.9%.

Other districts are Sialkot, Bahawalpur, Toba Tek Singh, Faisalabad, Gujranwala, Mandi Bahauddin, Multan, Okara, Rahim Yar Khan, Rawalpindi, Gujrat, Sheikhupura and Sargodha of Punjab; Dir Lower, Malakand, Swabi, Charsadda, Haripur of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Muzaffarabad, Mirpur and Kotli of AJK.

Addressing a press conference after chairing a meeting of the cabinet committee on coronavirus in Lahore Chief Minister Buzdar said that the smart lockdowns would be imposed in the Covid hotspots from April 1 till April 11.

There will be a complete ban on wedding events and other gatherings in the province,” he said. “It has also been decided that mass transit transport, which includes the Orange Line Metro Train (OLMT), Metro bus and the Speedo bus service, will be closed,” he added.

Buzdar emphasised that the government would not impose any restrictions on economic activities or industries, saying that the construction, transport, goods and industrial sectors would continue to operate with implementation of the Covid-19 standard operating procedures (SOPs).

Besides, according to the chief minister, indoor and outdoor dining at all restaurants and hotels have also been banned, markets and shopping malls to close by 6pm and 8pm respectively besides business would remain closed on Saturday and Sunday. All public parks will be shut.

“The situation will be reviewed by the cabinet committee after seven days,” Buzdar said. He warned that the situation could get worse if the SOPs were not implemented. He urged that everyone must protect himself and family members by wearing face masks.

In Peshawar, meanwhile, directives were issued to impose micro-smart lockdown in eight more areas. The areas where the restriction will take effect include Shaheen Town, Amjad Colony, Peshawar Board, Abdul Wahab Road, Wazir Bagh, Pajgi, Tauheed Colony and Shahi Khel.

In Islamabad, local administration officials and police sealed eight shops and fined wedding halls and restaurants for violating Corona SOPs. The Islamabad administration has urged the shopkeepers to strictly follow the SOPs.

Coronavirus first emerged in the country in February last year. The first wave of the disease started ebbing in July after hitting a peak of more than 5,000 single-day tally in June. The cases spiked again towards the end of the year, which the experts dubbed “the second wave”.

Since the advent of March, there is a fresh increase in the new infections. On March 12, Planning Minister Asad Umar attributed the spike to the UK strain of the virus, calling it the third wave of the pandemic, which has seen more than 70,000 cases this month so far.

The NCOC, which serves as the nerve centre of the government’s unified effort against the pandemic, said in its daily update that 4,525 more people tested positive for the virus across the country since Sunday, increasing the number of active cases to 46,663.

At present, it added, 3,648 patients were under treatment at different hospitals across the country, while the condition of 387 patients was critical and were on ventilators. As of Monday, the nationwide death toll stood at 14,256, while the overall positive case ratio reached a record high of 11.2%.

Since the beginning of the outbreak, a total of 659,116 cases were detected, including in 12,484 in AJK, 19,585 in Balochistan, 5,010 in G-B, 56,450 in Islamabad, 85,581 in K-P, 215,227 in Punjab, and 264,889 in Sindh.

(WITH INPUT FROM APP)