Federal govt imposes restrictions in major cities to combat coronavirus
Asad Umar seeks unconditional apology from the court
ISLAMABAD Aug 2,2021- The Federal government as impose new restrictions in major cities of Pakistan in wake of the rising number of coronavirus cases, Federal Minister for Planning, Development, and Special Initiatives Asad Umar here on Monday announced.
The new coronavirus restrictions will come into effect from Aug 3 and will remain in place until Aug 31.
Speaking at a press conference in alongside Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Health Dr Faisal Sultan, the minister said that all the decisions were taken after the approval of Prime Minister Imran Khan.
The restrictions will be imposed In Punjab, in Rawalpindi, Lahore, Faisalabad, and Multan; in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Peshawar and Abbottabad will have the new restrictions.
As for Sindh, lockdown is already in place in Karachi and Hyderabad, but after August 8, the NCOC’s new curbs will also apply, the minister said.
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, all commercial activities will be suspended by 8pm instead of 10 pm, while indoor dining will remain banned, while takeaway and home-delivery services from restaurants will be allowed 24 hours a day.
The minister announced that public transport will operate on a 50% capacity to avoid crowding inside vehicles.
Shops and markets will remain closed twice a week, he said, adding that provincial governments will decide about the safe days.
The minister added that offices will continue to operate on a 50% capacity and appealed to the masses to get themselves vaccinated as soon as possible.
Earlier, Prime Minister Imran Khan summoned a meeting on coronavirus as the pandemic spirals out of control with over 8% positivity ratio being reported in the last two days.
The PM was briefed about the lockdown in Sindh imposed since July 31 (Saturday) after a sharp spike in infections. The federal ministers have strongly objected to the restrictions in the province, saying it will hurt the economic progress that has been achieved so far.
The meeting discussed the surge in coronavirus positive cases and deliberated upon measures to contain the spread of the Delta variant of virus in the country.
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