Lahorites warned against violation amid strict lockdown
The deputy commissioner appealed the people to stay at home except in dire need.
LAHORE (Dunya News) – As the Punjab government has imposed stricter lockdown from 6:00 pm till Sehr in week days besides declaring weekends as closed days, the local administration has warned the masses of strict action over violation of lockdown on Wednesday.
This was announced by Deputy Commissioner Lahore Mudassar Riaz Malik while informing the public through the social networking website Twitter.
He said in his tweet that strict lockdown is in force in Lahore from 6 pm to Sehr, and strict action will be taken against the violators.
The deputy commissioner appealed the people to stay at home except in dire need.
Malik said that the citizens should play their role as the responsible citizens by following the government’s SOPs to stop the current wave of coronavirus from further spreading.
Earlier today, an important meeting chaired by Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar had decided that stringent restrictions will be imposed in cities with high rate of positivity.
This was announced by Special Assistant to CM Punjab Dr. Firdous Ashiq Awan through a tweet. She said that important decisions have been taken in the provincial apex committee meeting chaired by CM Punjab to deal with the third wave of coronavirus.
She said that it was decided that strict implementation of coronavirus SOPs would be ensured while restrictions would be tightened in cities with positivity rate higher than 8%.
She said that during the meeting, while reviewing the proposal to allocate hospitals in major cities for coronavirus patients, it was decided that all necessary steps would be taken to maintain uninterrupted supply of oxygen. Hoarding or overcharging for oxygen cylinders will be prosecuted, she added.
Firdous Ashiq Awan said that closing hours of shops and markets will be effectively enforced while violations of measures taken for the protection of the people will not be tolerated. All business activities except medical stores, petrol pumps, vaccination centers and other essential services will remain closed from 6 pm till Sehr.
On Monday while addressing a press conference, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Director General Major General Babar Iftikhar had said that army has been deployed in 16 affected cities of the country in view of the growing threat of the coronavirus pandemic.
He said that Pakistan Army, as emergency responders, will help civilian bodies to implement the SOPs. He said Army has been called in under Article 245 of the Constitution to assist civil administration and law enforcement agencies to prevent spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. He said a brigadier level officer will head the army troops at divisional level, while an officer with the rank of Lt Colonel will serve at district level. He said Pakistan Army will not claim any kind of internal security allowance for its services in containing the contagion.
The DG ISPR also provided details of the coronavirus situation in the country and added that the government has asked the armed forces to assist the implementation of coronavirus standard operating procedures (SOPs).
Major General Babar Iftikhar said that the army has been deployed in 16 affected cities of the country in view of the growing threat of the coronavirus pandemic.
He said that the number of deaths were increasing on a daily basis amid third wave of coronavirus in Pakistan, adding that there were 90,000 active cases of Covid-19 in Pakistan.
“The Pakistan Army jawans will provide full support to other law enforcement agencies in the country,” he said.
Maj Gen Babar Iftikhar said 75 percent of oxygen has been reserved for the health sector and if situation aggravates the oxygen meant for industrial sector will also be diverted to hospitals to save lives. He said there are around 90,000 active Covid cases in Pakistan, while positivity ratio of these cases is higher than five percent in 51 cities. He said this ratio is higher in 16 cities, which include Islamabad, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan, Hyderabad, Quetta, and Muzaffarabad. He said ventilator occupancy has reached to 90 percent in some of the cities. He said so far 17,187 people have died of Covid-19.
"Pakistan Army had brought about "enhanced deployment" of its troops in Islamabad, Peshawar, Mardan, Nowshera, Charsadda, Swabi, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, Bahawalpur, Gujrat, Karachi, Hyderabad, Quetta and Muzaffarabad," he said.
The DG ISPR said nation’s trust is asset of the armed forces of Pakistan and they will not disappoint the people of Pakistan in this hour of need and will take every possible step to secure lives of the masses. He called for collective responsibilities of observing Standard Operating Procedure like wearing face mask and maintaining social distance to avoid spread of the virus. He said by strict compliance of SOPs at homes and mosques, during Ramadan, we can help one another in this critical time.
At present some 4,300 COVID patients were in critical condition while 570 were on ventilators across the country, he added. Over 90 percent ventilators were occupied in some cities of the country, he said.
The DG ISPR said,”The average death rate from the coronavirus in April was the highest.” Since February 26, 2020, he said,17,187 people had died due to the pandemic. “At present, the global case fatality rate (CFR) due to the coronavirus is 2.12 per cent, while during this pandemic wave, the CFR in Pakistan has increased to 2.16 percent for the first time as compared to the world.”
He mentioned that an important meeting of the National Coordination Committee (NCC) was held on April 23 under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Imran Khan in which Chief of Army Staff General Qamar Javed Bajwa was also present.
With the consultation and mutual consent of all the stakeholders, he said, the NCC had taken some important and timely decisions regarding non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs or alternate measures to treat the disease other than medical treatment) to control the third wave of coronavirus pandemic.
The implementation of precautionary measures was an effective response to the pandemic stemming its outrageous spread, he added. “We must all work together individually and collectively to ensure the health and safety of the people,” the DG ISPR urged the nation. “We can be safe from this contagion only by following the safety guidelines regarding the use of face mask and social distancing,” he said.
