Punjab Minister for Law, Parliamentary Affairs and Social Welfare Raja Basharat has said that after the increase in corona cases in Sindh, preventive measures are needed to be tightened in Punjab and if people do not take precautions, smart lockdown could be resumed in high-risk districts and areas.
He was presiding over a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on COVID-19 at the Chief Minister’s House on Wednesday. Briefing on the current situation of pandemic in the province, the secretary for primary health said that Punjab had been witnessing an increase in the number of new corona victims and deaths in the last few days, especially in Gujranwala, Nankana Sahib and Gujarat that could be regarded as high-risk districts in view of increasing number of new cases.
Dr Yasmin Rashid said that the previous wave of coronavirus in Punjab came after Sindh, “in view of which we need more caution”. Raja Basharat lamented that no restriction of SOPs i.e. wearing of masks and social distancing was witnessed in public gatherings across the province so the Punjab Health Department should formulate new SOPs in this regard and the local district administration should ensure complete implementation. He directed the district administrations across the province to ensure implementation of SOPs in marriage halls, educational institutions and public places and also to launch a massive public awareness campaign on the media. Also, the Punjab government imposed micro-smart lockdowns across the province to curb the possible spread of COVID-19. The Punjab Health Department has targeted 856 sensitive areas for the limited locality-based lockdowns, and quarantined around 7,295 infected people.
Meanwhile, Sindh on Wednesday reported 304 fresh coronavirus cases and four deaths in the past 24 hours. Chief Minister of Sindh Syed Murad Ali Shah in a statement on the coronavirus situation said that the total number of infections across the province has soared to 1,39,195 as the province conducted a total of 14,26,236 tests.
