Punjab govt decides to lift coronavirus lockdown in the province: sources

LAHORE: Punjab government has decided to lift lockdown restrictions in the province after the coronavirus cases have witnessed a declining trend, ARY NEWS reported citing sources.

According to sources, the provincial government decided to lift restrictions under smart lockdown in the province from August 03 rather than August 05.

Secretary Primary and Secondary Healthcare Punjab will issue a notification in this regard, they said.

Divulging reasons behind lifting lockdown in earlier one of the worst-hit province, the sources said that it was decided after promising results emerged from the randomly collected samples from cattle markets in the province.

No traces of coronavirus were found from the samples collected from cattle markets, they said.

The sources further said that it was also possible to grant permission for a rally expressing solidarity with Kashmiris on August 05.

It is pertinent to mention here that the Punjab government on July 27 announced to enforce a “smart lockdown” in the province from midnight tonight till August 5 to curtail the spread of the coronavirus pandemic on the occasion of Eidul Azha.

A notification has been issued in this regard.

According to a notification, all markets, shopping malls, business and commercial centres will remain closed till August 5.

All utility stores, milk shops, tandoors, medical stores, petrol pumps, bakeries, vegetable shops will remain open during the smart lockdown, reads the notification.

All educational institutions, restaurants, salons, cinemas will also remain closed, according to a notification.

The notification furthers reads that there will be a complete ban on sports, social and other activities during the lockdown period.