Punjab govt closes tourist spots amid spike in COVID-19 cases

LAHORE: Keeping in view the recent spike in COVID-19 cases amid the third wave of the disease, the Punjab government on Friday decided to shut all the tourist spots in the province, ARY News reported.

According to a notification issued by the Tourism Development Corporation of Punjab, all the tourist spots in the province will remain closed till 11th of April. The decision has been taken to stem the spread of the deadly virus.

It is pertinent to mention here that Punjab had recorded as many as 2,467 new cases of COVID-19 and 73 deaths on 30th of March. According to the provincial health department, the tally of total deaths by Covid-19 in the province had reached 6,317.

Earlier on March 29, in light of the continuing surge in Covid-19 cases, the Punjab government had decided to reimpose a number of restrictions to halt the spread of the virus.

Chief Minister Usman Buzdar had presided over a meeting to review the worsening Covid situation and decide on whether or not to impose a blanket lockdown in cities having higher Covid-19 positivity rate.

Sources had said the meeting decided to ban wedding ceremonies, including both indoor and outdoor, from April 1. It had further decided that markets and shopping malls across the province would close at 6pm.