Smart lockdown imposed in various areas of major cities across the country
Food and grocery stores and pharmacies will remain open in these areas
RAWALPINDI/PESHAWAR (Dunya News) – Following the spike in coronavirus cases, smart lockdown has been imposed in various areas of major cities across the country.
In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, nine areas have been sealed following to the spike in coronavirus cases.
The smart lockdown has been implemented in Abbottabad, Swat, Mardan, Naushera, Chitral, Malakand and other areas.
The lockdown has been imposed in these areas due to the rapid increase of Coronavirus cases. Entry and exit points of these areas will be closed during smart lockdown.
The relevant areas were sealed with barbed wire, however, the orders could not be fully implemented in various areas of the provincial capital.
Smart lockdown had been imposed in Ashrafia Colony, Chinar Road, University Town, Danishabad, Asia and Shinwari Town and Sector E-Two Phase One Hayatabad and the main roads in the affected areas had been closed for all traffic but various routes had been ignored.
While the citizens appreciated the steps taken by the government regarding the smart lockdown, the shopkeepers of the sealed areas said that the business centers should be allowed to remain open during the lockdown.
Three valleys of Upper Chitral, six areas of Abbottabad, 15 areas of Nowshera, five areas of Mardan, three areas of Khyber, 11 areas of Swat and seven areas of Batgram have also been sealed under smart lockdown.
On the other hand, like most parts of the country, the streets, neighborhoods and union councils of Rawalpindi, Multan and Faisalabad have been placed under smart lockdown.
According to notification, the lockdown in Rawalpindi will continue from June 18 till June 30 and the city’s UC-21 to UC-29 have been sealed, however, the food and grocery stores and pharmacies will remain open in these areas.
Meanwhile, in Faisalabad, the district administration failed to make the smart lockdown a success as per government orders and 8 markets could not be sealed despite government orders.
In Kasur, various union councils had been sealed due to spike in coronavirus cases and smart lockdown has also been imposed in Gujranwala where entry and exit routes have been closed by placing barriers.
In Multan, three areas including MDA Chowk, Shah Rakn Alam Colony and two blocks of New Multan have been sealed off due to the threat of Coronavirus.
NCOC identifies 20 cities affected most by Covid-19
On June 15, the NCOC said it identified 20 big cities including Lahore, Islamabad, Quetta, Faisalabad, Multan, Gujrat, Gujranwala, Sialkot, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Larkana, Khairpur, DG Khan, Ghotki, Swat, Malakand, Mardan with potential hotspots for the coronavirus pandemic, which has already infected 144,478 people across the country.
According to details, the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC) has taken important steps to identify 20 most affected cities of the country under testing, tracing and quarantine strategy against coronavirus hotspots.
The NCOC has issued instructions that special attention needs to be paid to these 20 cities and swift action is required in view of the rapidly increasing coronavirus cases.
The report said that more than 300 corona cases were reported in G-9/2 and G-9/3 areas of Islamabad. In addition, I-8, I-10, Ghauri Town, Bara Kahu, G-6 and G-7 areas are newly identified hotspots.
The NCOC said that in cities where increasing cases of coronavirus have been identified, safety and precautionary measures need to be tightened.
