22 more die of coronavirus in Punjab, provincial death toll near 500

LAHORE: Punjab reported 22 more deaths from coronavirus in the past 24 hours on Monday, taking the total number of fatalities to 497, according to the Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department.

A spokesperson for the department said 1184 new coronavirus cases have emerged in Punjab, taking the total number of infections across the province to 26,240.

Read More: Over 600,000 people may be infected with virus in Lahore

Of the new infections, 727 were detected in Lahore.

A total of 239,173 tests have been conducted in the province (Punjab) so far while 6124 people have made successful recoveries after contracting coronavirus, the department said.

Punjab Information Minister Fayyazul Hassan Chohan yesterday, refuted reports regarding the imposition of fines over not wearing face masks at public places.

Read More: No fines over not wearing face masks in Punjab

Fayyazul Hassan Chohan said in a statement that the Punjab government has not released any notification in this regard. He clarified that there was no truth in such reports which indicated charging fines over not wearing face masks. He added that the provincial government has not set any penalty for it.

The minister claimed that a notification was mistakenly spread in Pakistan, whereas, the citizens will be formally informed if the provincial government makes any such decision.