LAHORE: The Punjab government has decided to keep the province’s markets closed from midnight tonight till August 5 to limit the spread of coronavirus during Eid holidays.
This decision was made in a meeting of the coronavirus Cabinet Committee chaired by Law Minister Raja Basharat at the Chief Minister’s House in which Mian Aslam Iqbal and other ministers participated.
Information Minister Fayyaz-ul-Hassan Chohan has said that there will be strict lockdown in the province’s markets till next Wednesday and the decision will be implemented from tonight. He said that Eid-ul-Fitr SOPs will also be implemented on Eid-ul-Adha as well.
The Minister said that SOP implementation in cattle markets will be ensured and the decision to reopen theaters, restaurants and other recreational areas will be discussed after Muharram.
The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in Pakistan has reached 274,289 with the virus claiming 20 more lives, bringing the death toll to 5,842.
According to the latest figures from the NCOC, 1,176 new cases were reported in the last 24 hours, and now the total tallies stand at 92,073 in Punjab, 118,311 in Sindh, 33,397 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 11,601 in Balochistan. 1,989 total cases have been reported in Gilgit-Baltistan, 14,884 in Islamabad and 2,034 in Azad Kashmir.
So far 1,890,236 people have been tested across the country and 22,056 new tests were conducted in the last 24 hours. So far, 241,026 patients have recovered while the condition of 1,229 patients is critical.
