Punjab extends partial lockdown till May 31
Last updated on: 10 May,2020 08:28 am
Complete lockdown will be imposed from Friday to Sunday: Fayyaz-ul-Hassan
LAHORE (Dunya News) - Punjab government has extended partial lockdown till May 31, for which a notification has also been issued. All small shops in Punjab will remain open for four days a week.
According to the notification, all major shopping malls and educational institutions in Punjab will remain closed. However, barber shops, beauty parlors and gymnasiums are allowed to open for four days a week. All grocery stores, tandoors and general stores will remain open from 9 am to 5 pm.
According to the notification, the fruit, vegetable markets and courier services will remain open for entire week.
Marriage halls, marquees, public transport, concerts and sports activities will be banned till May 31.
Senior doctors oppose relaxation of lockdown
Senior doctors have expressed concerns over government’s decision of relaxing lockdown and said that situation could worsen because of lack of facilities in our hospitals if cases of the virus surged.
Addressing a presser with other associations in Karachi, Doctor Ikram of Pakistan Medical Association said that coronavirus cases will escalate after relaxation in lockdown.
He further said that doctors are loyal to people and Pakistan and they will not be pressurized by anyone. He also claimed that these days people are dying from coronavirus and other diseases, not from hunger.
He also demanded government to increase facilities for patients if it plans to relax lockdown. “From day one, we are pointing out lack of facilities in hospitals”, he added.
Maltreatment of coronavirus patients intolerable: PM Imran
Prime Minister Imran Khan expressed dismay over the media reports about maltreatment meted out to Covid-19 patients by some medical staff in the hospitals and said such behavior is intolerable, which creates fear among patients.
Chairing a meeting of the National Health Task Force in Islamabad today, he directed the paramedical staff and doctors to treat Covid-19 patients in hospitals with utmost care and responsibility.
Earlier, Punjab Information Minister Fayyaz-ul-Hassan Chohan announced relaxation in lockdown for four days of a week (Monday to Thursday) in which all shops and markets will be allowed to remain open. However a complete lockdown will be imposed from Friday to Sunday.
Provincial Information Minister Fayyaz-ul-Hassan Chohan said that mega shopping centers and plazas will not benefit from relaxation in lockdown and will remain close.
Prime Minister Imran Khan has also announced phased lifting of the coronavirus lockdown from May 9 and said that “First coronavirus case was reported in Pakistan on February 26 and the country was put under lockdown like rest of the world as the pandemic spreads very quickly.
“It was feared that the lockdown would affect daily wagers and people were in trouble because of it. Thousands of fatalities were occurring in a single day worldwide.
“By the grace of Allah Almighty, Pakistan did not face pressure like other countries. Now we have to ease down the restrictions.
“Casualties are increasing which was anticipated. It was feared that hospitals might run short of beds. It can still not be predicted that when the intensity of the outbreak will increase.”