COVID-19 hotspots in six more Punjab cities to go under lockdown

LAHORE: Punjab government on Tuesday decided to put more COVID-19 hotspot areas in six cities of the province under lockdown, ARY NEWS reported quoting sources.

The decision was made in a meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Punjab Jawad Rafique Malik. It was decided that other than Lahore, virus hotspots in six more Punjab cities will be sealed-off.

The cities included Gujranwala, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Gujrat, Multan and Rawalpindi. The sources said that lockdown will be imposed in these cities from 12:00 midnight on Wednesday.

They further said that the provincial authorities had already decided to impose lockdown in virus hotspots identified in Lahore and the decision will come into force from Tuesday midnight.

The directives for imposing lockdown in these areas have been conveyed to the concerned district administrations.

It is pertinent to mention here that Punjab Minister for Health Dr Yasmin Rashid on Monday said the government has decided to completely seal off some areas of Lahore for two weeks due to rapid increase in coronavirus cases.

Addressing a news conference in Lahore, the provincial health minister said provincial administration has decided to impose complete lockdown in virus hotspots to contain the spread of coronavirus in the provincial capital.

“Some areas including Shahdara, Gulberg, Mozang, Walled city, Shad Bagh, Harbans Pura, Nishtar Town, Allama Iqbal Town will be locked down completely from Tuesday midnight,” she added.

Yasmin Rashid further said that areas will be locked down for at least two weeks and the decision to lift off lockdown will be taken after observing the results.