Lahore (Web Desk): The Punjab government has imposed a lockdown in Lahore, Multan, Rawalpindi and Faisalabad due to spike in the number of COVID-19 cases.
As per the notification, the lockdown has been imposed from Tuesday, August 3 and will remain in effect till August 31.
The decision to reimpose restrictions was taken by the National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) after reviewing the worsening situation of the pandemic in the country.
Addressing a news conference along with Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) on Health Dr Faisal Sultan on Monday, Federal Planning Minister Asad Umar, who also heads the NCOC, announced the decision of imposition of certain restrictions.
The major cities, where the new restrictions will be imposed, include Rawalpindi, Lahore, Faisalabad and Multan; Peshawar and Abbottabad in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; In Azad Jammu and Kashmir, restrictions will be imposed in Muzaffarabad and Mirpur, while in Gilgit-Baltistan, the new rules will apply to Gilgit and Skardu.
As per the new restrictions announced by the NCOC, all commercial activities will be suspended by 8pm instead of 10 pm.
Indoor dining will remain banned while the outdoor dining will be allowed until 10pm instead of 12am.
The takeaway and home-delivery services from restaurants will be allowed 24 hours a day.
The NCOC chief announced that public transport will operate on a 50% capacity to avoid crowding inside vehicles.
He added that shops and markets will remain closed twice a week, whereas the provincial governments will decide about the safe days.
The minister said that the offices will continue to operate on a 50% capacity and appealed to the masses to get themselves vaccinated as soon as possible.
On the other hand, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Pakistan rose to 1,043,277 on Tuesday after 3,582 new coronavirus cases surfaced in the country during the last 24 hours.
As per the NCOC data, 49,798 tests were conducted in last 24 hours while positivity ratio remained 7.19%.
According to the government's COVID-19 portal, the death toll related to coronavirus has reached to 23,529 with 67 fatalities reported during the last 24 hours.
Over the last twenty four hours, total number of recovered COVID-19 patients across the country reached 944,375 after another 1,355 virus recoveries were reported.