Citizens must follow Covid SOPs to avoid tighter restrictions: Punjab CM

LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar has warned of imposing tougher restrictions in view of the spike in novel coronavirus cases across the province, ARY News reported on Friday.

Punjab CM Usman Buzdar said in a statement that the third wave of coronavirus is becoming disastrous and those not wearing masks are becoming a danger for others. He said that the consistent rise in mortality rate and COVID-19 cases is worrying and the government is mulling over more steps to protect its citizens.

“If the situation worsens, we will tighten restrictions as the protection of citizens’ lives are our top priority. Citizens must have to follow the standard operation procedures (SOPs) in order to avoid restrictions.”

Read: Punjab govt mulls complete lockdown in some cities before Eid

The chief minister said that pressure on the public health system is also rising due to hike in COVID-19 cases. He once again appealed to the citizens to wear face masks and said that prevention measures are an effective way to cope with the virus. He also asked citizens to support the government’s steps to curb the virus.

Punjab reported as many as 2,296 new cases of the novel coronavirus over the last 24 hours, taking the tally of confirmed infections in the province to 301,114.

According to the Primary and Secondary Healthcare Department, 83 more people died of the virus during this period, pushing the death toll to 8,410.

Read: Buzdar vows strict restrictions in Punjab’s most affected districts

Of the 2,296 new cases, Lahore reported 1,086 while 30 more people succumbed to the disease in the provincial capital. A total of 18,962 samples were tested, out of which 2,296 turned out to positive.

Pakistan recorded 131 more COVID deaths in the past 24 hours, pushing the nationwide tally of fatalities to 17,811.

According to the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) data,  5,112 persons tested positive for COVID-19 during the same period, taking the number of positive cases to 820,823. A total of 49,099 tests were conducted.