ISLAMABAD: All the markets, shopping malls, restaurants and wedding halls across the country will be closed by 10pm from today (Thursday) due to recent spike in coronavirus cases.
As per the guidelines prepared by National Command and Operation Center (NCOC), there will be no entry in recreational places and public parks after 6:00pm. The medical store, clinics and hospitals are exempted from these new timings as they will remain open.
Section-144 has been imposed in Islamabad to force people to wear face masks and follow other standard operating procedures (SOPs).
Earlier, NCOC had directed the provinces to ensure compliance of wearing of face masks and other SOPs against Covid-19 particularly in markets, shopping malls, public transport and restaurants.
Four thousand three hundred and seventy-four smart lockdowns had been imposed across the country so far.
On the other hand, Pakistan has reported 16 deaths in last 24 hours by novel coronavirus as the number of positive cases has surged to 331,108. The nationwide tally of fatalities has jumped to 6,775.
According to the latest figures by the NCOC, 908 persons have been tested positive for COVID-19 in 24 hours.
Sindh remains the worst-hit province by the pandemic in terms of cases followed by Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Islamabad.
Till now 144,765 coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Sindh, 103,587 in Punjab, 39,277 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 19,454 in Islamabad, 15,876 in Balochistan, 3,938 in Azad Kashmir and 4,211 in Gilgit-Baltistan.
Furthermore 2,611 individuals have lost their lives to the epidemic in Sindh, 2,347 in Punjab, 1,273 in KP, 149 in Balochistan, 215 in Islamabad, 92 in GB and 88 in Azad Kashmir.
Pakistan has so far conducted 4,376,604 coronavirus tests and 29,449 in last 24 hours. 312,638 coronavirus patients have recovered in the country whereas 624 patients are in critical condition.
