It was a difficult decision to seal nine areas of Lahore: Dr Yasmin
She said people need to understand that Coronavirus is not going anywhere until the vaccine arrives.
LAHORE (Dunya News) – Punjab Health Minister Dr Yasmeen Rashid on Monday said that it was a difficult decision to seal nine areas of the provincial capital.
Speaking exclusively in Dunya News program “Dunya Kamran Khan Kay Sath”, she admitted that the people didn’t take precautionary measures during Eidul Fitr where a spike in positive cases of coronavirus has been reported.
Dr Yasmeen said that the areas with hotspots will be sealed, however, the food and grocery stores and pharmacies will remain open in these areas.
The provincial minister said that the corona testing ability is enhanced, adding that the number coronavirus patients could reach 200,000 patients by next month.
“The people need to understand that Coronavirus is not going anywhere until the vaccine arrives,” she added.
To a question, Dr Yasmeen said that coronavirus epidemic is most prevalent in Lahore and the person with corona has respiratory problems shouldn’t stay home.
The government of Punjab, in view of the spike in the number of coronavirus cases has decided to impose a complete lockdown for two weeks in certain areas of Lahore.
At a press conference, Punjab Health Minister Yasmin Rashid said the provincial government had decided to impose a complete lockdown in Shahdra, Shad Bagh and Harbanspura and its adjacent areas with effect from June 16 due to rising number of coronavirus cases being reported from there.
The province on Monday reported 54,138 confirmed cases of coronavirus while number of deaths reached 1,038.
Rashid urged people to follow the standard operating procedures (SOP) as stipulated by the government to prevent the spread of the virus. The government has devised a “special strategy” for certain areas of the provincial capital from where a spike in positive cases of coronavirus has been reported recently, she said, adding that transmission of the virus can be reduced by up to 50 percent if people wear masks.
Pakistan on Monday reported 144,478 confirmed cases of coronavirus while the number of deaths jumped to 2,729.
The figures were 139,230 and 2,632 respectively on Sunday.
According to Minister Asad Umar, if the number of positive cases continue to rise then the figures would likely reach the one million-mark by end of July.
