Special Assistant to Prime Minister on Information and Broadcasting Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan Friday said all public service providing government offices in the federal capital will remain closed for two weeks in the wake of coronavirus outbreak.
In a tweet, Dr Firdous said the safety and security of the people is the government’s top priority. The directives issued by the government are for all the employees working in different departments. “The staff or officers deputed on special duty will have to attend the office whereas those of 50 years of age or older are required to work from home,” she added. Similarly, she said, the employees suffering from diarrhoea, cold, fever or any other ailment will also work from home.
The SAPM said day care centres in the offices will remain closed whereas the female staff and mothers of newborns are allowed to work from home. She said in the wake of increasing risk of coronavirus, the excise and taxation, property offices and beauty salons will also be shut down for 15 days. However, she said, shopping malls will be closed at 10 pm while for the convenience of the public, dining restaurants, food outlets and takeaway facilities will remain available. She said NADRA, Passport and Immigration Office, CDA’s One Window and all other departments where direct dealing with the people is made, have also been closed for two weeks.
Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has asked people to go into a three-day isolation to contain the spread of coronavirus as number of confirmed case rose sharply in the province on Friday. “Please stay in your homes to protect yourself and your loved ones,” he was quoted as saying while presiding over the coronavirus task force meeting at the CM House in Karachi. “We have grave concern about local transmission of the virus. Around 51 cases of the local transmission have emerged and the situation will get worse if it continues. This is why we are asking people to not go outside,” he said.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government Friday said the provincial capital will not undergo a lockdown.
Addressing a press conference in Peshawar, Chief Minister’s Adviser Ajmal Khan Wazir said the ulema are playing an extremely crucial role amid the coronavirus outbreak. “Even Islam has given instructions to combat any pandemic that spreads among the people,” he said. “In the current environment, it is better to say greetings than to shake hands. There can be no greater greeting than Assalam-o-Alaikum. It is better to refrain from going to gatherings without any justification,” he added. The Balochistan government has decided to impose partial lockdown across the province in a bid to minimize the spread of the deadly coronavirus. With most of the country s cases originating from Pak-Iran border along Balochistan, the government has decided to limit public activity and movement to slow down the virus. The provincial government has decided that all shopping malls and crowded markets shall remain closed while inter-provincial transport and public transport buses will also remain closed initially for a period of three weeks. Moreover, restaurants have been barred from letting customers dine-in and only take-away or home delivery services will be allowed.
