Govt mulls tightening Covid-19 smart lockdown as tally crosses 80,000

ISLAMABAD: Due to the rise in the coronavirus cases in the country, the federal government was considering tightening smart lockdown to control the spread of COVID-19, ARY News reported on Wednesday, citing sources.

A high-level meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad, has decided that provincial governments will play a pro-active role to create awareness among people about the implementation of SOPs to protect them from the virus.

The meeting also decided to engage the local public representatives more in containing the novel coronavirus in the country.

The meeting agreed to impose strict lockdown if people continue to violate standard operating procedures (SOPs).

The meeting also reviewed the fulfillment of the needs of doctors and healthcare workers, fighting the COVID-19 pandemic on the forefront.

Read More: Countrywide tally of coronavirus cases tops 80,000; 28,923 patients recover

The prime minister said fulfilling all requirements of doctors and healthcare staff was the topmost priority of the government.

The countrywide tally of coronavirus cases has surged past 80,000 with 28,923 patients having recovered from the disease and 1,688 virus-related deaths.

So far, 32,910 cases have been detected in Sindh, 29,489 in Punjab, 10,897 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 4,740 in Balochistan, 3,188 in Islamabad, 287 in Azad Jammu and Kashmir and 779 in Gilgit Baltistan, according to the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC).

With 67 more Covid-19 related fatalities recorded over the past 24 hours, the number of people succumbing to the disease in the country has jumped to 1,688 so far.