Punjab Commerce Minister Mian Aslam Iqbal announced on Thursday that after the approval of the Chief Minister Usman Buzdar, markets and shopping malls can remain open until 10pm.
“With shopping malls, the local markets and shops will also remain open on account of the upcoming festival of Eid,” the minister noted.
Besides markets and shopping malls, the provincial government has also announced to open the shrines across the province from tomorrow [Friday], however, the extension of hours is not applicable for shrines. He said considering the vitality of Afghan peace and stability for the whole region, Pakistan had been playing a sincere reconciliatory role to advance Afghan peace process and would continue doing so.
Meanwhile, the passengers have started to return to their hometowns to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr with their loved ones after public transport has resumed in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).
According to details, the passengers have on one side taken a sigh of relief while on the other side, they are facing immense difficulties due to increased fares for travelling to other cities.
Meanwhile, the local authorities have failed to implement standard operation procedures (SOPs) to avoid spread of coronavirus.
It is to be mentioned here that Pakistan has confirmed 32 more deaths from novel coronavirus in one day as the nationwide tally of fatalities has jumped to 1,017 and positive cases surged to 48,091.
According to the latest figures by the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), 2,193 persons have been tested positive for COVID-19 in 24 hours.
Till now 17,382 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Punjab, 18,964 in Sindh, 6,815 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 2,968 in Balochistan, 1,235 in Islamabad, 579 in Gilgit-Baltistan and 148 in Azad Kashmir.
Patients are under treatment at quarantine centers of 462 hospitals where 7,295 beds are available.
Pakistan has so far conducted 429,600 coronavirus tests and 15,346 in last 24 hours. 14,155 coronavirus patients have recovered in the country whereas many are in critical condition.
